Falling Through Fanfiction
by The Wicked Witch of Cupcakes
Summary: I just wanted a break. But somehow I ended up inside the stories, by this I mean that everyone in the stories thinks I'm the main character. Obviously I'm not. Now, with the help of a fellow "jumper", Nemo, I'm going to try to get out. Of course that's if the Editors don't get me first(Basically a crossover of the top 12 most popular fandoms, I'm sorry I'm terrible at summaries)
1. Chapter 1

I just wanted a break. That's all I ever asked for. All my teachers had decided to pile on the homework this weekend, so I was getting it done. Well, some of it anyway. I was just taking a short little two hour break surfing the net and eventually found myself (as always) reading fanfiction.

I'm skimming through _The Outsiders_ fanfiction, trying to convince myself that it counted as studying because we're reading it in class. I'm not finding any interesting stories today, so I just sit there staring at the screen. I can't even bring myself to sigh, I'm so bored. I play with my average brown hair as my eyes slowly make their way down to my key board. My fingers brush over the ancient keys. I had bought the laptop from some weird thrift shop place, but it was all I could afford. My parents have this whole "If you buy it you'll care more about it and you'll have learned a life lesson" philosophy, so I'm stuck with this old dinosaur.

I notice one key that seems to have no function. I try to figure out what it does, but to no avail. _I know,_ _I'll just press it. _And I do.

Immediately the world falls away from beneath me, but I'm too surprised to scream. I feel my hair flailing against my face and my arms trying to grab hold of something, _anything._ And then as soon as it happened, it's over.

I'm sitting in a different room. The pink walls and brown carpet are most definitely not mine. I'm sitting at a desk staring into a mirror. I'm wearing a dress that looks like it belongs in the movie _Grease. _I look at the pictures on the desk, and they're all of someone with red hair smiling in different scenarios with different people. _Where I am?_ I think.

That's when I notice the name across the top of the mirror in sparkles, _Cherry Valance. _I stare at it for a few moments as a look of confusion and horror appears on my face. _That's impossible. _Cherry Valance, from _The Outsiders_.

I turn around as a middle aged woman opens the door and smiles sweetly. "Cherryberry, Bobby's here to pick you up." I just stare at her. My hand slowly comes up to point at my chest in a manner of asking _me?_ She looks at me confused. "Yes dear. Aren't you two going out with Marcia and her boyfriend?"

There's an awkward pause as I begin to nod my head. "Yes. Of Course. Let me just, um, grab my bag." _I guess I'll just play along with this weird hallucination. _

The boy sitting in the car perfectly matches the description of Bob from the book. There's also another girl whom I assume to be Marcia sitting in the back with another guy. "Hey Cherry, ready to ride?" I slowly sit down into the shotgun seat. "Yeah…"

"Hey are you feeling alright Cherry?" The Marcia girl asks. "What? Oh yeah. I'm just fine. Absolutely peachy." I reply, dropping a bit of sarcasm in.

"Spanking. Let's go then." Bob says as he drives off. We arrive at the movies, and suddenly I think I know where in the book we are. My suspicions are confirmed as Bob pulls out a pack of beer. We're at the part in the story where Cherry and Marcia leave their boyfriends because they've been drinking. Then we go to the sitting area and run into Ponyboy. I already decided to go with the "playing along with it" thing, so I just let him and the other guy drink and drink until they've finished the pack of beer and are still going.

By now they're really drunk and slurring, and stumbling all over the place like idiots. _Remind me again, why does Cherry date this guy? _Ok. I think they're drunk enough for me to make a stand now.

"Bob. That is IT. I told you I can't stand it when you drink but clearly my feelings mean nothing to you. You have a serious alcoholic problem, and if you continue on the path you're going, you're going to die an early death. Alcohol rots your liver and shrinks your brain. You also have an increase for heart attacks. Do you really want to do that to yourself? I would think not. And for what? To get a little loopy? Your tolerance rate is probably very high, but one day you're gonna drink too much and pass out, and you're never going to wake up again… But I won't be there to mourn you."

And I turn and start walking away, with all of them staring in shock at me. Maybe I got a little carried away. _WAIT A MINUTE! _I run back, grab Marcia by her arm, flip my hair over my shoulder defiantly, and try to walk coolly away. Unfortunately it's lost some of its effect.

Marcia is just staring at me too shocked to say anything. Finally she musters "What was that?" I look at her a moment trying to figure out what to say, then finally just settle with "The Truth." Wow, I'm really proud of myself, that was so artisty.

So we arrive at the seating area of the drive in movie. Almost no one is sitting here, probably because it's a _drive in _movie theater, but that's alright because I have a really easy time picking out Dallas, Johnny, and Ponyboy. Marcia seems reluctant when I start walking towards them, especially when the rest of the seats are empty, but I'm trying really hard to follow the plot line.

Before we even sit down Dallas starts making rude comments at us. I'm trying so hard not to punch him in the face, because that would be going against the plot. Then I realize I have no idea what Cherry says to him. Maybe I'll just punch him in the face anyway. _No, focus. _So I turn around at stare at Dallas in the eye.

"You sexist pig. Didn't your mother ever teach you manners? Clearly not. If I wasn't in a public movie theater I would smack you in the nose right now. You really are a greaser. When you follow stereotypes because you feel there's nothing else you can do but live up to your expectations, then you're not doing anyone any favors! Maybe if you decided to try hard in school and go to college, I don't know, maybe _get a job_, you'd be proving everyone else wrong and breaking the CHAIN! But instead you're weak and afraid so you just live with what you were given, which isn't much." There an awkward silence as everyone in the movie theater is staring at us.

"Oh, and umm, get lost." I silently sit back down at stare forward at the screen. _You messed it up again, way to go. _I hear Dallas walk away. I think maybe I scared him a little too much.

I turn around to Johnny and Ponyboy. "You gonna start in on us now too?" They both quickly shake their heads in terror. What does Cherry say next? "You don't look the type…um…what's your name?"

"Ponyboy Curtis" Ponyboy answers, sounding scared beyond belief. "How'd you know Dallas's name?" He continues. I don't remember this in the book.

"What?"

"You called Dallas by his name, but he's never even seen you before, and you're a-a Soc." Uh-oh.

"I've um, heard of him, in school. Seen him around campus. Oh, and I'm Cherry Valance."

"Yeah I've heard of you. You're a cheerleader right? We go to the same school."

"Exactly. See you know my name because we go to the same school, and I know Dallas's name because we go to the same school." I add with a smile.

"Dally doesn't go to school. He dropped out." _Oh shit. _

"Right, but um I knew him from before he dropped out." I think I saved that one. It doesn't look like Dallas is coming back any time soon, so I'll just skip ahead to getting drinks.

"Hey come with me to get a coke?" He looks very intimidated. "Sure." He says reluctantly, with a glance at Johnny.

So I try to start conversation with Ponyboy about Johnny because I'm 95% sure that's what they talk about in the book at this point. Suddenly a boy about 15ish looking cuts in line right behind us. No one else seems to notice him. His black hair is slicked back with pounds of gel, and he's wearing a leather jacket so he looks like a greaser.

"Hey Ponyboy." I whisper. "Do you know that kid behind us? Is he a greaser?" Ponyboy looks beyond confused. He peers behind my shoulder. "Who?"

"That guy right behind me."

"Cherry, um, there's no one behind us." I turn around but the guy is still there. Okaayy…

So I try forgetting about him and focusing on the Johnny story, when I feel his lips right next to my ear and a chill goes down my spine. "A little lost?" He whispers. I tense up. "No one else can see me right? And everyone thinks you're one of the characters?"

I whip around to face him, but I awkwardly turn inches from his face and now we're just staring intently at each other. Suddenly he steps to the side, just as Bob appears.

"Cherry!" "Bob?"

"Cherry, I thought about what you said, and you're right. I care so much more about you than some drink and I don't want to die like that. I want to live the rest of my live. With you." My mouth drops five inches, and Ponyboy behind me tenses up and I can tell he's just as scared as I am. The gel guy starts laughing though, so I yell at him "Shut up!"

But Bob thinks I'm talking to him, "What? But Cherry I-"

"No, not you!" I interrupt. Ponyboy starts backing away. "Wait, Ponyboy, don't go I can explain!"

He just keeps looking at Bob in terror, when suddenly Johnny runs up from the seating area. "Dallas is back! Ponyboy, Cherry, um, Marcia kinda left with him."

"What?!" I explain. This isn't supposed to be happening. Then Johnny sees Bob and a wave of pure horror washes over his face. He looks up at Ponyboy and says so quietly I'm sure Ponyboy can't hear him "The rings." But I guess Ponyboy can hear him because he nods his head, and before I can stop either of them they run off into the night. _Oh shit, oh shit, shit, shit! I really messed up the plot. This is not good._

Bob takes my hand, "Cherry?" But I pull it away from him, and march right towards the gel guy who's been laughing harder and harder this whole time. "Stop laughing and explain to me who you are!" I yell while point accusingly at him.

"Cherry?" Bob looks really concerned right now. I just ignore him.

"Why can't anyone else see you?" He laughs some more. "Because I'm not part of the story. I'm not a character." He answers.

"Then who are you?"

"A normal person like you."

"Then can you explain how I got here in the first place?"

"I don't know. Everyone gets here differently."

"Fine, but how do I get out?"

"Get out? Why would you want to get out?"

"BECAUSE I WANT TO GO HOME!" I scream getting frustrated.

"Fine, fine, you need to reach the most popular fanfiction."

"What?"

"Which I believe is Harry Potter right now."

"Wait, wait you lost me."

"Look, I better go. It looks like you royally screwed up and I don't want to be here when the Editors show up."

"What? Wait no don't-" But I'm interrupted as I hear a commotion behind me. I turn back to gel guy but he's gone. Suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn and it's Bob. But he's not alone, there are other Soc looking guys with him, and I have a bad feeling about this.

"Cherry, let's get you home. You've had a very long day and you must be very tired."

He looks concerned enough, but not the _you look tired _concerned_,_ but the _let's get you to a mental institute _concerned.

In a second I make my decision. I rip his hands off me and turn and run for it. I hear more of a commotion behind me as they scramble to catch me.

Suddenly I realize that I have no idea where I'm going and I've never been here before, and I don't even know where the bathrooms are, let alone the exit. But I see a fence directly ahead of me. If I can just hop it I should be in the clear.

I hear them getting closer behind me, and everyone else in the drive in are either screaming or running away, but I keep going. It's so close I can almost feel the cold metal.

Just as I grab for the fence, I feel someone's hands around my waist pulling at me, but I just hang on. I kick as hard as I can, grateful I'm wearing heels, and feel an _ouch_ behind me and know I've reached my target.

The hands slip away and I climb to the top as fast as I can. But my heart jumps to my throat as I hear a horrible tearing noise and realize my skirt has caught on the fence. I lose my balance, and the tearing continues as I fall to the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

My head is killing me. I feel someone shaking my shoulder. _Clary. _I think I hear someone saying in the background. There's also a rhythmic thumping in my head. I can't get it out. _CLARY._ The shaking gets harder until I start flailing my arms. "Clary."

My eyes slowly pry open. There's a blinding light. Actually a multicolored light. I realize I'm in a club. There's a kid right above me shaking. He has freshly scrubbed dark brown hair, and glasses perched crookedly on his nose. _Where am I? _"Clary are you alright?"

I sit up. He's talking to me. So I guess I'm Clary. _Who's Clary?_ "Um, excuse me, can I just, um go to the ladies room?" He looks confused. "Alright. I'll be right here."

My head is still swirling as I push my way through the crowds to the bathroom. When I get there I stare at my hair in the mirror. It's red. I know have red hair. _Why? _I'm on the verge of a panic attack when the door opens. My face turns as red as my hair when I notice who it is.

"THIS IS THE WOMAN'S BATHROOM!" I scream at the gel guy. "Hey I'm just here to help."

"Because you're so helpful." I say as I glare at him.

"Come on, you can use all the help you can get. After all, you did almost get thrown into a mental house." I just sit there silently because I know he's right.

"Fine." I eventually say.

"Great. So this is what you're going to do. Follow your instinct, cause that's the author telling you what to do. And follow what you can remember of the book."

"About that. Where am I?"

"Oh, The Mortal Instruments novels. The first book City of Bones." Oh. I know this book. Wait, so I'm in a club, so I'm right at the beginning. Uh-oh, now I wish I hadn't stopped reading after the first chapter.

"Ok, I think I understand. But one more thing, what's your name?"

"Oh, Nemo."

"Nemo?"

"Nemo."

"Like, Captain Nemo? Finding Nemo?"

"Yep."

"Okay."

"So what's your name?"

"Oh, well, it's-, well, I mean…It's, um, Cherry, wait no Clary, no wait, what? It's um, why can't I remember my name?! Oh my god!What? I don't understand!"

"Calm down. It's alright. You'll probably remember in a while. I'm sure this happens sometimes. Of course most people don't end up in stories like us." I just stand there trying to catch my breath and calm down. _Breath-in, breath out. _"Alright…I'm fine."

"Great. So just get out there and remember, follow your gut feeling."

"Alright, Captain."

"It's Nemo."

"Yep, Captain Nemo." I say as I walk out the door. I scan the dance floor but see no one that remotely resembles Jace, or any of the other shadow hunters. But then I see a flash of blond hair over on the other side. I get over there and find the door they disappeared through.

I open it and find myself in a storage room with faint light spilling down from dirt smeared windows. I crouch behind some boxes as I wait for my gut instinct to tell me to do something.

There's a woman who looks like she belongs on the cover of a Victoria's Secret magazine. Then there are two guys standing behind her, a blond one, Jace, and a black haired one, Alec. Then there's the demon with electric blue hair. They're all having a conversation about demons or something.

Suddenly I hear Jace say "You can _join him there."_ I feel my instinct kick in and I stand up and begin to yell stop, but my foot catches on a stray electrical wire and I trip over it so it comes out more like "STOWOOPPS!"

As I fall to the ground I can hear the music in the other room stop and people start booing. Woops. Looks like that wire connected to the sound system. I quickly get back up and recollect myself. "Stop." I say as intimidatingly as I can. Everyone else in the room seems confused beyond belief. So there's just an awkward silence. Finally Alec breaks it by saying "What?"

"She can see us." Isabelle whispers to Jace. Alec whispers also whispers to Jace. "What's this?"

"It's a girl." Jace replies.

"You don't say." I shoot at him, dripping with sarcasm. Jace's looks confused, but recovers his composure.

"A mundie girl. And she can see us." He says.

"Of course I can see you. I'm not blind you know."

"Oh, but you are." He says bending down to pick up his knife.

"Wow, so ominous." I say to myself.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Look, you better get out of here, if you know what's good for you."

"I can't do that, cause if I do you'll kill him." I say motioning toward the demon. Of course I know it's a demon, but I'm following my instinct.

"What do you care if I kill him?"

"Because you can't just KILL PEOPLE!" I exclaim.

"Exactly."

"What?"

"I said exactly."

"I know you said exactly, but I mean exactly _what?"_

"I mean you're exactly right, you can't just go around killing people!"

"What?"

"Oh my god! He's a DEMON! For Christ's sake…"

"Jace, that's enough." Isabelle says with a warning tone.

"You people are crazy, but luckily I already called the police. The should be here any moment."

"She's lying." Alec says, but there's doubt on his face. Then, right on schedule, the demon tears free of his restraints. Everyone jumps into battle mode, while I just stand here awkwardly trying not to get killed. Suddenly I notice a stray pipe, so I pick it up.

At that moment the demon jumps on Jace and is about to slash at him when I hit him squarely on the back with my pipe. He lets out a shriek and faces me with a look of immense fury. I'm about hit him again, but Jace sinks his knife into the demon's back and the black liquid explodes from the hilt. He began to fold in on himself until he vanished entirely.

I decide to take my leave now, before anything else happens. I turn to sneak away, but Isabelle is standing in my way. She looks kinda pissed. "I have a pipe and I'm not afraid to use it." I say.

She flicks her whip at me and pulls the pipe from my hand. "Hey. Um…I don't have a pipe anymore, but I'm still not afraid to use it."

She looks like she's about to whip me to death, when Jace interrupts. "She knows too much."

"So what should we do?" Isabelle asks. "Let her go." Jace answers.

"We could bring her to the Institute." Alec suggests. "Or you could let me go." I add.

Isabelle glares at me. "No one asked you, you stupid little mundie." I'm about to sass her back, when Jace says "But is she a mundie? Girl, have you had any dealings with demons? Walked with warlocks, talked with the Night Children? Have you-"

"First off, I have a name. Second off, you're all crazy-" _Because I'm not insane at all. Yeah right. "_And third off, I'm not answering any of your questions if you keep being so rude to me."

I'm pretty sure that at this point Simon is supposed to intervene, but I'm not seeing him. I guess I'll just have to escape myself.

"Also, you called that kid a demon. Could there not be more demons here? Cause that guy standing behind you looks pretty demonic to me." Of course there's no one there, but they all turn in surprise. _Gotcha. _I jump at the door and plunge back into the crowd of the party. I frantically search for Simon, and pray that they haven't found me yet.

I see him over by the bathrooms. "SIMON!" I yell out. "Let's go. NOW!" I grab his hand and we run off into the night. We run for a few blocks, and then grab a taxi. My heart is still pounding though. I'm so lucky that worked, but I don't think I followed the book exactly. Oh well, I'm sure there's no harm done…

Well, I guess there was a _little _harm done. My "mom" Jocelyn is furious when I get home so late. And honestly, I'm so tired I don't even care. I just plop down on "my" bed and immediately fall asleep.

The strange thing was, when I wake up I remember strange things from my dream. It wasn't even really a dream, it was more like a lifetime of memories. The really eerie thing was that they weren't even my memories, they were Clary's. But they felt so real they might as well be my memories.

The one prominent thing that stuck out from these dreams was a box with the initials J.C. on it. There was an image of Jocelyn crying silently over it with a strand of white blond hair in her hand. I don't know why it bothers me so much though.

So anyway, then I get a strange urge to draw something. Well not _something, _Jace. But I know I can't draw. I failed art in 2nd grade. But low and behold there is a sketch book lying on Clary's desk. So I grab a pencil and plug in her ipod.

At first I'm hesitant cause her music isn't really what I'm into, but as I listen more and more I find myself appreciating it. I make a mental note to download some of these Stepping Razor songs.

Another weird thing begins to happen. I start to draw, and it looks good. Not even good, _great. _I mean like _you can actually tell what it is I'm drawing_ great. When I'm done I just hold it up and stare in awe at it. Who knew my Miss Hansin, my art teacher from last year, was such a remarkable teacher. This is definitely going on the refrigerator when I get home.

_If _I get home. Right now it's not looking so great. I feel a rush of longing in the pit of my stomach and wish I was sitting in my room instead of some stranger's.

But the mood is interrupted as I hear the phone ring in the other room. I pick it up.

"Hi, I'd like to order 12 pepperoni pizzas with extra cheese." I immediately know its Simon.

"I'm sorry our authentic brick ovens currently don't exist. I suggest you try a _real _pizzeria, Simon." I hear him laughing through the phone.

"So why'd you call?" I ask.

"Well, I was really just checking up on you, 'cause you seemed to be kind of out of it yesterday."

"Thanks, but I'm really fine now." _Not. _I'll probably never be fine again, but I can handle it.

"Cool. And also, um, Eric" _Eric?_ Ahh Eric. The one with the band, as I recall from my dream memories. "is having a poetry reading at Java Jones, and the whole band is going to show their support. Do you wanna come?"

I pause, trying to find my "gut instinct." Nothing's there, so I guess this one is up to me. "Sure. I'll just have to ask my mom when she gets home." I can almost hear his smile on the other side of the phone.

"Awesome. Get back to me asap." We both hang up just as the front door opens. Luke walks in carrying what look like big squares of pasteboard. I also remember him from my dream.

"Hey. Where's mom?"

"Parking the truck. Remind me again why this building has no elevator service."

"Because our landlord has been considerate enough to know that we live in America and can use as much exercise as possible, and we are also cheap as hell." I smile at him and he smiles back.

I hear boot heels clicking on the wooden floor and know Jocelyn has entered the apartment. "Thanks for bringing up the boxes." She says to Luke. I see a glance flash between them and know something's up.

"What are the boxes for?" I asked suspiciously, narrowing my eyes to slits.

She seems to take forever to answer. Just as she takes a breath and I think she's going to say something, she sighs. "We're going on vacation." Luke and Jocelyn both tense up as if expecting an argument.

"Where to?" I simply ask. They both share a puzzled glance.

"Um, to the farmhouse." A farmhouse? Seriously? L-A-M-E.

"Why not Hawaii. I hear it's lovely this time of year. OH, or Washington D.C. We could take a tour of the White House!"

"Well. Um maybe next time. I'm sorry for now you'll just have to deal with the farmhouse. And also, it's for the rest of the summer."

"Ok." What do I care? It's not like I'll be here for the rest of the summer. At least, I _hope _not.

"So I'll start packing, but um can I go to like a poetry reading thingy with Simon?" Jocelyn and Luke still seem shocked by my calm. "Sure. But you're not angry about the farmhouse? Not even a little?"

"Nope." Just as I say this the door flies open.

"JESUS!" Luke exclaims. Simon stands in the doorway. "Actually, it's just me. Although I've been told the resemblance is startling." He waves at me from the doorway. "Did you get the okay from your mom?"

"Yep." But Jocelyn quickly adds before we go "Don't forget your cellphone sweetie!"

"I won't mom."

As soon as we walk out the door I catch sight of a cat. I believe its Dorothea's. I quickly bend down to pick it up and start petting it. I hold it tightly against my breasts so I can properly hold it. I starts purring loudly and the sound is so familiar I just want to go home and snuggle with my cats. I've always loved cats. Then I notice Simon glaring at me.

"Why are you glaring at me?" I ask blatantly.

"Not you, _it_." He says spitting out venom and pointing at the cat.

"You don't like cats?" I ask innocently.

"Are you kidding me? I've always hated them. Allergies. Geez, how do you not remember? We've been through this a million times." He adds, still glaring at the cat.

"Of course I remember, I was just- um, testing you. Yeah, wanted to make sure you remember." I ask while laughing, when in honesty I don't remember anything about it. That's one memory that didn't appear in the dream. I put the cat down and we continue out.

As we walk to the café or whatever, Simon does most of the talking, about like band names, or girlfriends, I don't know. I add helpful comments sparingly, and nod my head when necessary. My phone goes off a few times, but I just leave it because my "instincts" are telling me to.

Before I know it we're at the café. I sit down as Simon gets us coffee. The poetry sucks. I mean flat out _sucks._ But this is where the story is going so I stay put and just try to block it out.

I feel a tap on my shoulder and spin around about to kungfu whoever's sneaking up on me, but it's just a girl. "Excuse me." She says, not intimidated by my catlike reflexes. "Is that your boyfriend?" She asks, pointing to Simon.

I follow her finger. Then motion to Simon and back to her to be sure I got it right. She nods her head. I repeat the motion. She nods her head again. "Simon?" I ask. "Like glasses standing in line over there with two cups of coffee, _Simon?" _She nods her head again. "And you're asking me if _he's _my _boyfriend?_" She nods her head.

I immediately burst into laughter. I feel terrible, but I can't help laughing at the absolute absurdity of all this. And then I just start laughing harder because Simon thinks he's know me all he's life but in reality it's only been a few hours. And then people start giving me confused looks, and even some angry looks for interrupting Eric's poetry or whatever, and this makes me laugh even _harder. _And I take one look at the girl's face who asked this question and I just can't even take it anymore and I just pound my head on the table to calm myself down.

When I can finally talk again I simply answer "No, he is not my boyfriend." And turn back around. Simon comes back a few moments later, apparently not having noticed my laughing fit. "I hate it when they run out of mugs. Those things are hot." He comments about Styrofoam cups.

"You're staring at me. Why are you staring at me? Have I got something on my face?" _Alright I'm gonna tell him, _I decide.

"Don't look now, but blondie twelve o'clock thinks you're cute." His eyes flicker over to her.

"Orange top?"

"Yep"

"What makes you think so?"

"I can read minds, _what do you think? _She told me."

"Really?"

"I know I'm in as much shock as you, but yes, really."

"Um, well actually that's kind of funny because it kind of leads into what I wanted to ask you."

"Which is?"

"Um, well, all the other guys in the band have girlfriends, and while that blondie is cute, I would rather I date someone closer to home."

"Oh god. You know incest is against the law right?" Simon looks very confused. I continue, "All I'm asking is please don't kiss your sister in front of me because I will be very disturbed."

"NO! Don't worry I'm not incestual. I just meant someone I've known for a long time." I nod my head. "Like who?" A look of pure pain crosses his face.

"Like someone who's been my friend since we were little. Like _you._" I pause to think. I certainly don't know anyone, but it's very possible that Simon simply is talking about someone not in my memories. He's just sitting there waiting for me to comment. So I do, "So, who is it?"

He looks like he's ready to claw his eyes out, when I heard a very loud laugh behind me. I immediately turn, ready to use my kungfu moves again, and I realize it's Jace from the night before. I feel terrible but I immediately stand up and say "Simon, I'm sure who ever it is you're crushing on will say yes, but I just realized that I, um, left the phone at home. Yep! I have to go home immediately to get it."

"No you didn't" Simon replies. "It went off a bunch of times while we were walking here." _Oh damn. _

"Yes…" I stall as I try to come up with a better excuse. "What I meant was, my phone is dead. Yeah, it like, _just _died, so I better go home and charge it."

"But I have a phone charger. You can totally borrow it and plug it in right here." Simon says pointing to an outlet conveniently located right next to our table. "How convenient." I mutter.

"What?" Simon asks.

"I said I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING TO PUKE AND I'm LEAVING now!" And I run away before he can foil my excuses again. I turn the corner, and Jace is already standing outside.

"You're friend's poetry is terrible." He says in a deep voice while looking at me through he's bangs. Wow…How clique. Oh well, just go with it.

"Please," I answer, "He's not MY friend."

"Well, it sounds like he ate a dictionary and started vomiting up words at random."

"I don't know if it was vomiting or explosive diarrhea but it sure was horrible." He laughs at this. "So, why are you following me?" I ask casually.

"Who said I was following you?" He asks with a tone of flirty in his voice.

"Are you kidding me? So what? Was it a coincidence you just so happened to walk into the same café and happen to sit behind me and _just so happen_ to eavesdrop on my conversation? You're right, I think that's stalking."

"Alright. You caught me. But to be fair, I was sent to get you."

"And that's not creepy at all. Why?"

"Because you're a mundane." And he starts rambling on about an institute or something or other and mundanes and warlocks and demons, blahblahblah.

"And that's why you need to come to the institute." He finishes.

"I'm sorry can you explain that one more time, I kind of blanked out there." He looks kind of shocked that anyone as common as a mundane could have the nerve to stop listening to his voice halfway through his speech.

"Look, you're coming whether you want to or not."

"Excuse me? Who do you think you _are_? _You're coming whether you want to or not._" I joke in a mocking voice. "Please. Don't be so dramatic. All you have to say is please."

Before he can reply my phone goes off. I decide I better pick up this time, since she keeps trying. "Hello."

"Clary oh thank god. Listen to me-" I've been expecting something dramatic to show up soon.

"Clary, you can't come home. Go to Simon's. Stay there until I-" but she's cut off midsentence.

I sigh. "Well, it's been nice meeting you, Jace, but it looks like that my cue to go." As I start walking away.

"Hold up. I'm not leaving without you." He threatens.

"Well then I guess you're not leaving." I shoot back as I run off towards home.

I feel compelled to help Jocelyn even though she's not even my mother. I say this because even though she's just a character, who's to say she doesn't have feelings or can actually die? I ponder this as I walk into the apartment. It silent as the grave, and there's no sign of the cat.

I grab a vase and hope it will help me defend myself from whatever's in that room. I've read enough books to know how these scenes go. I just need to give it one fatal blow. I wander through the empty apartment, but find nothing. What I do find has been torn up so terribly I can't even tell what it was once supposed to be.

I notice the silence isn't quite silence anymore, but there's a faint slithering noise in the background. _Maybe it's a mutant snake?_

But then I see this centipede like creature slither along the floor through the doorway. I shriek at the top of my lungs. The one thing I hate more than anything in the world is antifeminism, but the second thing I hate more than anything in the world is bugs.

I immediately throw my vase directly on its head with a deafening _cra_sh! As it broke into a million pieces. I push the cabinet right next to me onto the monster. I then jump on it and repeatedly jump up and down throwing all my weight into squishing it while yelling _die, die ,DIE, DIE!_

Eventually black ooze starts spilling out, but I jump a few more times just to be sure. It stops moving. I run into the kitchen, grab the biggest knife I can find, and run back. It's stopped moving for good.

A moment later Jace steps into the apartment. The look of shock on his face is priceless as he tries to figure out what happened here. "Thanks for finally _showing up._" I say dripping with sarcasm.


	3. Chapter 3

So Jace drags me to his Institute, and I make some new friends. And by this I mean I could tell they all hate me.

Hodge is the stereotypical wise older dude that guides the younglings but can't actually do anything useful himself (like leaving the building). I can tell you already that Isabelle feels threatened by me, and also likes to feel superior. Alec seems to also resent me, I think it might be because he feels I'm getting between his friendship with Jace? I not sure exactly what he deal is yet.

And Jace is, well, Jace. I can't help but have his nagging sensation in the back of my mind when he flirts with me, maybe it's just that instinct kicking in. But…

I'm also given the breakdown of things. Clave, demons, Shadowhunters, and runes. Exciting stuff. I make sure to pay close attention though so I know what's going on. Hodge casually mentions something about a "silent brother". Everyone makes a face, so I make a mental note to ask what that is later.

Isabelle gives me some of her clothes and I go change. They show me where my room is. But instead of changing I sit on my bed. And that's just it. It's not _my _bed, it's someone else's. It's not even _Clary's_ bed. It's just cold and unfamiliar. I miss the warm safety of my own bed. The one that smells like strawberry shampoo and has cat fur all nestled into the covers. The bed with the sheets I picked out, in the room I designed, in my home, and most importantly, in my universe. I just want to go home. But I refuse to shed any tears.

I finally work up the resolve to get changed, and start taking off my shirt, when I let out a glass-breaking howl. Jace throws the door open (and luckily I've put my shirt back down) but I tell him I'm fine, just jumpy, because of course he can't see Nemo standing behind me laughing his head off. So Jace leaves, very bewildered.

"You perv!" I shout at Nemo, when I know Jace is safely out of hearing distance. "What do you think you were doing?"

"I was just checking in on you. See if you were doing alright." He says, leaning in way to close to my face.

"Well, as a matter of fact, yes, I am fine."

"Ok then. Remembered anything new?"

"How did you know?" He laughs at my ignorance.

"_Please_ I've been jumping for years. I know all the ins and outs."

"Jumping?" He just rolls his eyes this time.

"It's what you've been doing. Jumping from story to story. But everyone jumps differently. I'm a pro so I know how to do it on demand."

"Well, _Mr. Pro, _I'm assuming you know how to get out then?"

"I told you already. You have to reach the most popular fanfiction and defeat the enemy. Then once the climax has ended, the story will reach a breaking point. This means that it will be safe for you to jump out of the Library."

"Alright? But I though you said I was in the story, not a fanfiction?"

"Well, you can travel in both. So far though, you've only been to the real stories. Maybe that's just how you're going to jump."

"Ok. But how come I'm part of the story and you're not?" And again with the eye rolling.

"Because everyone jumps differently and I know how to jump so I'm a shadow. Which means that none of the characters can see me." He says, predicting my question.

"Wonderful. So when can I get out of here?" I ask. And cue the eye rolling.

"You can't just jump from one story to another, well actually _I _can, but _you_ cannot. So you need to either wait for enough energy, which you get from a climax or any other high point of the story. So just wait it out a bit. You'll probably jump when it's natural for you. Usually it's a subconscious thing, except-"

"For you, yeah I get it. Anything else I should know?"

"Yeah. Don't mess things up. The Editors will get you." I don't even ask who The Editors are because Nemo can tell from my silence and raised eyebrow that I have not the slightest idea.

"The Editors are like the police of the Library. The Library is where we are, in the book. What they do is find any jumpers or viruses like us who might mess with the plot. I don't actually know what happens if they get you, but I can assume it's not very nice. Probably get deleted from the universe, that kind of thing. They'll also repair any damage done in the story. I'm sure their still working on that mess you made in _The Outsiders_"

"Hey. So not fair. I didn't even really know where I was."

"Excuses, excuses…Either way you'll probably be fine for now, just don't get into too much trouble." His hand rests on the doorknob. He turns back. "And by the way, if you get hurt, you get hurt for real. So I would just be careful if I was you." And he walked out the door. I run to go catch him, but he's nowhere to be seen. He must have "jumped".

I notice how much time I've been taking and quickly change and go meet up with the others.

Anyway, so Jace has this idea to go revisit the apartment or something like that, through some very convenient circumstances we end up in Madame Dorothea's, and _guess what?_ She's a witch. And _guess what else?_ She has a dimensional portal to an important plot point. Well, kind of important. Either way, I "accidentally" fall through it, because the foreshadowing makes it very clear that this is what the author wants me to do.

And we end up at a bookstore…I thought it was supposed to be a plot point? Oh wait, Luke's apartment is in the back. I'm assuming this is our next step. _Guess who else is conveniently there?_ That's right, Simon. I'm beginning to get suspicious that I'm getting stuck in the middle of love triangle. _Great._

So the three of us search Luke's place and find nothing of any interest. Except for like a bag. Filled with weapons.

Suddenly we hear some people coming in through the only exit. So we hide behind a rosewood screen. It's actually very nice, and I'm a little disappointed when Jace makes a one-way window through the middle of it.

To sum up their conversation, Valentine is back, he has Clary's mother, he is willing to trade her for the "Mortal Cup" (Whatever that is), and Luke wants nothing to do with it. It's weird, but from the conversation I kind of gather that Luke used to have a thing for my mom. Well, not _my _mom, but you know what I mean.

I almost get us caught by sneezing my brains out. It's weird because I only sneeze when I'm around dogs, because I'm allergic, but Luke has no dogs. Weird…Probably nothing.

After the previous incident, we learn from Hodge that Jocelyn was once married to Valentine, and they had a rebellious circle that wanted to ride the world of all underworlders. We also learn Hodge was part of this "Circle".

I have trouble focusing though because Simon has gone all goo-goo eyed over Isabelle. I don't even know why this bothers me because I don't even like Simon! Maybe it's just the "instinct" affecting me, or I just feel bad that she's taking advantage of him.

I snap back into focus though when I feel an icy shiver run down my spine. I turn. I glance sideways at Jace and make eye-contact. _Silent Brother?_ I mouth silently, because I'm afraid to break this absolute silence. Jace nods his head.

There's an awkward silence that follows. As usual I go ahead and break it, awkwardly.

"Helloo, my name is Clary. It is delightful to meet you." I wait for a respond. I see no lips moving, but I can't even see under his hood. I'm just holding my hand out awkwardly waiting for him to shake it.

_This is Jocelyn's daughter? _I hear, but not through my ears, in my head. I fully understand now, and pull my hand back and try to play it off as pushing back my hair.

"Yep. That's me. Clarissa Fray. Clary for short." Nothing. "I guess you'll be helping me find my lost memories?" _If I can._ Wow. Ok. A little ominous.

"So…shall we get this show on the road?" _What?_ "Can we just get this over with?" _Ye_s.

He reaches up to touch my face. Suddenly I see the library start to melt away, like colors getting washed off a canvas. I feel a pressure, a drawing pull in her head and hands and feet. I hear myself gasp and-I'm back home.

Wait no. The silent brother is here with me. _Who are you?_

"Clary" I hear myself say, but muffled as if through a screen. _No. You are an otherworldling. How did you get here?_

I see myself from third person pressing the button. "Through my computer. Can you help me get back?" The moments of silence crush me. _No._

"Please don't tell them then. I don't want to cause trouble. I just want to go home. _Please _just play along." Before I can get an answer, I'm being pulled up into the sun. Bam! I'm standing back in the library. Very dizzy, but in one piece.

I silently pray that the silent brother will help me, even though I know he can probably hear my thoughts.

_There is a block on your mind. Your memories cannot be reached. _I let out a (very loud) sigh of relief. Maybe a little too loud cause everyone turns to look at me. I just act natural.

_But there is one memory that has surfaced. MAGNUS BANE. _

Somehow the name MAGNUS BANE means we have to crash a party. I guess I'm fine with that, I just hope they can handle my dance moves.

The actually party starts at midnight, so I have the whole day to do nothing. I try to get some extra hours of sleep, but it just won't come. Maybe it's because I keep going back to thinking about Jace. Not in the way you think. I've been wondering if he actually likes me for me, or just the character. I know it's a stupid thing to think about, but I can't shake it off. He is very handsome, I'll give him that, but to be honest, I just really could care less. I'm a little too focused on trying to get home than getting a date. Unfortunately I'm just gonna have to play along with it…I suppose it could be worse.

I hear a knock on my door. I have a bad feeling. I hesitate before going to open it. Before I can make up my mind, Jace opens the door anyway. "Hello. Did you hear me knock?" He asks, very charmingly and flirtatiously as usually.

"Yes. Did you hear me ignore it?" I answer back.

"I'm sorry. You must not have opened it because you thought I was Simon." He is so not getting my point.

"Somehow, I don't think that's it." Still clearly not getting my message, he gracefully lays on my bed. I preoccupy myself with something. I grab my sketchbook and start to scribble. I feel him get very close and lay his head on my shoulder. "You're not terrible."

"Wow. Thanks. You really know how to flatter people. You know that?" I say, but I look down and still just see squiggly lines and circles. I don't know what Jace is looking at.

"Look I'm really tired. Maybe it would be best if you left now. Like _now._" I hint. Clearly Jace still isn't getting it though. He leans back showing off his slender body.

"If you're really that tired I could tell you a bedtime story."

"I'd really rather not."

"Close your eyes."

"Are you kidding me? WTF? Can you please just let me sleep?"

"Once there was a boy."

"Are you even listening to me anymore?"

"When the boy was six years old, his father gave him a falcon to train."

"I give up!" I sit down on the bed, (make extra sure to keep personal space between us) and listen to his story. It is honestly the most depressing thing I have maybe ever heard. I mean. Jesus, this kid's life kind of sucked. But Jace is so into it that I don't have the heart to tell him.

In fact, I'm actually kind of sleepy. I don't even notice it when I just drift off, although I am faintly aware of Jace closing the space between us.


	4. Chapter 4

"Get up!" I immediately rocket up, banging heads with Isabelle. "Ow, that hurt!"

"You don't say." I spit out. Did I mention I'm very cranky when I wake up?

Isabelle is wearing a party dress, and at first I'm confused, but then I remember the Magnus Bane thing. "Five more minutes." I squeak as I pull the covers over my head.

"NO! We are leaving and you're still not dressed!"

"Can't I just wear my PJs?" I ask (still asleep).

"Are you kidding me? It's a party."

"Yeah, but we aren't even really going. We're just crashing it right?" But she is dragging me out of bed, and down the hall. When I pry open my eyes I realize we're in her room. She's digging though her dresser. Maybe if I can sneak out really quietly…

"You're up! Finally." She exclaims while blocking my exit. I let out a groan. She holds up a little black shirt.

"Fine." I give in. "But where are the pants?" She starts laughing.

"This is a dress. No pants. All thigh." Suddenly I'm wide awake.

"I'm sorry but I'm not wearing that. I may be a mundane, but I still have standards."

"Don't be ridiculous. You will wear the dress and you will love it!" She says, and after a few minutes of chasing me down and then wrestling the dress on, she forces me into it.

She then insists on doing my hair, which I notice looks a bit redder than before. If I didn't know any better I would say it's turning even redder. I also notice my once crooked nose seems…less crooked I suppose. I'd always felt so self-conscious about it, but now that it's changing, I almost miss it. It's a piece of me gone forever. Well, I hope not _forever._

I snap out of my worry when Isabelle hands me nine inch boot heels that go up slightly past my knees. "You want me to wear heels?"

"Yeah. To blend in."

"What if we need to make a quick getaway?" I ask, confused because I thought the whole point of this party thing was to find Magnus Bane, not party.

"Then I hope you can run well in heels." There is no persuading her.

We meet Jace, Alec, and Simon at the entrance. Simon's mouth falls to the floor, and at first I think it's because of Isabelle, but then I realize he's staring at me. This is completely contradicting my ideals of respecting one's self, feminism, etc. I can tell already this is a mistake.

Jace also seems a little amazed. To be fair, I do have to give Isabelle props because she got me out of my PJs. "I like the dress" he purrs. I roll my eyes. "Need a little extra something though." He is really trying way too hard.

He pulls out a thigh sheath, and I just straight out slap him in the face. "Can we please remember that we are NOT going to this party to party, but are on official business?"

I can tell this night is going to suck. And I notice Alec keeps giving me this dirty look. If I didn't know any better I would say he was jealous. He can have the dress if he wants. I just want my PJs back.

The party's in an abandoned red brick warehouse. Abandoned, except for the High Warlock of Brooklyn living there. Besides that and the extravagant party he was throwing, absolutely abandoned.

I decide to let Isabelle take the lead on getting us into the party. When a young man who is tall and slender opens the door, she asks "Magnus? Magnus Bane?"

"That would be me." He answers, sounding almost bored. He's so thin and tall he looks like he's made of rubber. He's pupils are slits and his eyes yellow. With his flamboyant makeup he reminds me of a cat. "Children of the Nephilim. Well, well, I don't remember inviting you." He purred. But his eyes stop on me for a moment, and I can see a hint of recognition.

Isabelle takes out the invitation and starts waving it around. "I have an invitation, and these are my friends."

"I must have been drunk." He sighs and gives in. "Come in. And try not to murder any of my guests."

Immediately Simon and Isabelle go off to dance. _So much for being focused. _I look back and Jace and Alec have also disappeared. Maybe they went off to go dance too. I'm a little overwhelm with all the people and demons and monsters and everything else. I can feel my breathing getting a little short. I feel awkward and self-conscious. I try to scan the crowd to find anyone. No luck. I don't know what to do. I need to sit down.

I notice a couch tucked hidden away in the corner. I'm sure no one will notice me there. If Jace or Alec or anyone else needs me, I'll be able to see them. Unfortunately, no sooner have I sat down then a shadow blocks my view. "Well, hellloo there." A pale face looks down at me. "I don't think we've ever met before." He runs his hands through his spikey hair. He's wearing a retro striped suit with this wacko gold chain necklace. Maybe if I don't reply he'll go away. "Anyone sitting there?" He asks pointing to my couch.

"_Yes._" I hiss at him. "Lovely." He says oblivious. He rests his leg right next to mine. "Do you come here often?" He smiles at me with fangs. He inches closer. "You don't talk much do you?" He leans closer. "Would you mind backing up a bit? I need my personal space." I spit at him.

"Who needs personal space at a party?" That's it. He officially crosses my line. I jump up and slam my heel into his face knocking him to the floor. I grab the tray of drinks from the nearby table and smash them onto his head. I dig my heel into his back and pull up his head by his hair. I lean in really close to his ear. "_I _do." With that I drop his head back down and try to walk away as calmly as possible. Luckily I don't think many people saw that, or at least that it's a common occurrence, because everyone else acts like nothing happened.

I start to walk towards the exit. I just want some fresh air. When I hear someone behind me say "You like the party?" I turn to find Magnus lounging on a pillar. "You could say that…" I mutter.

"So is there a reason your name literally means _great_?" I say as I attempt to make small talk.

"You speak Latin?" He asks.

"I took some classes in school." I explain.

"Hmm. I don't remember you taking any Latin classes. Oh well. To answer your questions, simply because I am great."

"And don't forget modest." I add, then worry that I might have offended him. But he laughs. Before I can continue, Jace and Alec reappear. "Nice of you to show up." I say sarcastically.

"I was doing some investigating." He answers curtly. From his necklace of flowers and his pleased look I can tell this is a lie.

"As was I before you so rudely interrupted." I say, more curtly than him. "Yes, continue Clary." Says Magnus.

"Ok, well-" I start. "Wait. You just called me Clary. And you said that you don't remember me ever taking any Latin classes. But we've never met before. How do you know my name?" Magnus seems a little caught off guard that he made such a terrible mistake. "Well, I heard your friend call you Clary earlier, so I assumed…"

"Sure." I say, sarcastically. "And pigs can fly too. Now, _tell me, _how do you know my name?" I can tell Magnus has given in. He stands up. "Very well. Follow me."

He leads us into his rainbow bedroom that is just as bursting with color as his makeup. He closes the door behind us, "Clary, your mother was one a shadowhunter." I roll my eyes.

"Yeah. We know." Magnus sighs and says "She should be the one to tell you." I roll my eyes again.

"She can't. She was kidnapped, by Valentine." I inform him. He takes a moment to process it. "I don't know a Valentine." He shrugs. I can tell he's lying. "But I can tell you why I know your name…Your mother hired me to erase all your memories of the Shadowhunter world. Everything. Even as you saw it you would forget. And I did a wonderful job. I was so proud of it. It was the way she wanted it. The only problem was she had to come to me every two years as the results of the spell faded. And so I've seen you grow up. In fact your mother was due to visit soon. But she never did. I went to check up on her but couldn't find her." Wait a minute…_Dorothea's cat._

_ "_Yes! I remember. You were a cat." He looked puzzled. "You shouldn't remember that, I threw up a glimmer as hard as a wall." Sudden realization dawned on me.

"You were the cat, and I picked you up, and you were right on top of my breast! Oh my GOD! I am soo embarrassed. I thought you were a cat. _And you were purring!" _I shriek. I notice Jace's face blush when I mention my breasts.

"I don't think this is really important right now." Alec says while Jace tries to calm me down.

"It is so important. I have been VIOLATED. This may not be important to you, but he was touching _my_ breast." I scream in his face.

"To be fair, you do have very soft breasts." At this I simply lose it. Finally Magnus rolls his eyes. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm gay."

"Oh." I say. "Actually that does make me feel better. Thank you Magnus, you've been extraordinarily helpful." I see Jace roll his eyes.

"We'll just be going then. We wouldn't want to overstay our welcome." Jace says.

"What welcome?" Magnus sneers. "I'd say it was a pleasure to meet you, but it wasn't. Not that you aren't all fairly charming, and as for you-" He drops a glittery wink at Alec, who looked astounded. "Call me?"

As we walk out Jace leans into me and whispers "If I told you I was gay, would you let me touch your breasts?" I don't even answer, just slap him square across the face.

No sooner do we return to the dance floor, then Isabelle comes running up to us yelling "He got turned into a rat!"

"Did you say he got turned into a rat?" I ask. "Yes!" Shouts Isabelle immediately after. "Who?" I ask.

"SIMON!" And then she bursts into a ramble about a blue drink and vampires or something. "Pause" I interrupt her in the middle. "You let Simon get turned into a rat?"

"To be fair, I told him not to drink it." Isabelle replies.

"Ok. Not helping." I point out. "So where is he now?" Jace asks, reading my mind. There's silence. "Well?" Jace presses. Finally Isabelle answers, actually sounding regretful, "Vampires took him." Immediately I exclaim, "Whaa?"

"Well, a vampire took him. He had wet hair for some reason and he looked REALLY pissed off, and he was wearing this striped suit-"I interrupt her again.

"Did you say a striped suit? Did he by any chance have a golden chain necklace?" I ask slowly and painfully, as if I'm walking on a bed of coals.

"Yes." Isabelle answers, looking confused that I recognize this vampire. _Damn._

"Ok. Well, this is all my fault. I don't want to go into details but basically this vampire is very pissed at me, _I did not know he was a vampire at the time_, and he probably saw Simon walk in with me, so he kidnapped him to get revenge on me." I paused because I think I lost some of them. "Look, it doesn't matter how Simon got taken, or why, or whose fault it is _cough _Isabelle _cough,_ what we need to focus on is getting him back." I say, attempting to be encouraging.

"No." Says Jace and Alec in perfect tandem. "What?!" I exclaim. "We are not risking our well-being for a mundane." Jace explains. "But you do it every day! Why not now?" I ask. They both roll their eyes, still in tandem.

"Because Simon was taken and is in their possession now, on their territory, and according to the Accords, we are not allowed to step foot within." Alec explains. We stand there for a moment. I feel anger swelling in my throat. Finally I just lose it.

"Simon is my _friend_. And just like you Shadowhunters, we are a team, and we are NOT going to be separated. Just because he's a mundane does NOT make him any less of a person than you are. If anything, he is _more_ of a man than either of you! I don't care if you don't like him, we are going after him. I don't even care if you come with me. You can either wait here, or come with. Your choice! After all, I wouldn't want you to break your _precious_ Accords." I spit out the last sentence with icy venom. Without even waiting to see if they follow or not I trudge out of Magnus Bane's decked out ballroom, and out into the street. I take a moment and rip my heels off. I sit down on the curb. _One, two, three._

Right on time they can sprinting out. They stop as soon as they see me and act indifferent. "What took you so long?" I tease.

"We decided that Hodge would great really pissy if we let you die." Jace jokes back. I zip my heels back on and we go out to find Simon.


	5. Chapter 5

We stop at a church first to pick up weapons. I never thought I'd say _that. _Then we head Uptown. We end up in a rundown neighborhood. One abandoned building jumps out at me, Hotel Dumort. I can't help but giggle a little. Hotel Death. Isabelle gives me a death glare. "Sorry, it's actually kind of funny." I say, but then remember that I'm supposed to be worrying about Simon dying. To be honest, I know he's not going to die because without him there's no love triangle, and we can't have a story without a love triangle. But I better keep up appearances for the story's sake.

Breaking in is easy enough. Walking silently in heels is not. Isabelle has it down to an art, but alas, I do not. I grip the dagger Jace gave me earlier in the church. I wanted some form of weapon, but everyone else thought I would hurt myself or get in the way so this is all they gave me.

The actual hotel does look abandoned. It reminds me of waiting on line for the Tower of Terror in Disneyworld. Except this is real and there are bloodsucking vampires trying to get revenge on me because I would not let one of them pick me up. Captain Nemo's voice rings in my head, _if you get hurt you get hurt for real. _I was right about tonight, it is going to _suck_ (see what I did there?)

Anyway, so we creep around for a while but find nothing. Then we see the ballroom. The ruined floor is white marble, now so badly cracked that it resembles a sea of floating artic ice. My gaze is drawn up to the once elegant balconies. I at first I'm just admiring the bronze detail, but then I see movement in the shadows. My eyes shoot open. "Um, guys?" I try to get their attention, but Jace shushes me, "Clary, we're trying to be quiet." They're all focused on the ground floor. "I think this is actually really important." I try again. "Clary, so is being sneaky." Jace is not getting my message. "I REALLY THINK YOU SHOULD SEE THIS."

Finally Jace turns to me, "Clary, _quiet-"_"LOOK UP!" I yell at the top of my lungs, my shout ringing through the domed ceiling. It echoes back hauntingly as Jace, Alec, and Isabelle all turn to look at the balconies teeming with vampires. One vampire with mocha skin and black hair steps forward. "Welcome Shadowhunters. I hope you find the view _to die for."_

I can't help but laugh a little at this. Everyone shoots me dagger stars. "Sorry." I whisper. "Look, you bloodsucking ba-"I intervene, possibly having a plan.

"Hey, look." I explain. "There's been a silly little misunderstanding. It seems you accidentally took one of my friends home. And you see, I'm not a Shadowhunter, I'm a mundane, and so is my friend. We would be ever so grateful if you just returned him to us, and we'd go on our way, no harm done." I add a little smile just to pull it all together.

The Spanish vampire who seems to be the leader turns around. A moment later the striped suit vampire shows up holding a squirming rat tightly in his hands. "Is this the rat your looking for?" He inquires.

"I can't really see from down here. Let me check. HEY SIMON!" I yell. The rat starts worming even more violently. Its Simon. "Yep, that's him. Now if you could just let him go, that'd be great." The Spanish vampire starts to laugh and all the other vampires join in, creating a staggering echo effect with the dome that intensifies the laugher, so it seems that there are even more of them.

"Did I say something funny?" I ask, letting a drop of acid drip into my voice.

"You see, little girl, we have no intention of returning your little rat friend back, Shadowhunter or not. You have wronged us and will pay." They laugh some more.

"Alright, look." I say, getting annoyed. "Just because I didn't let your tacky little pinned striped suit friend invade my personal space, is no reason for _murder_. I mean, come on, do you do this to every girl who rejects you? Maybe that's why no one will date you?! Ever thought of that? All you do is sit in your gross dusty hotel and act like you're the top shit, well, I hate to break it to you, but you are in fact repulsive. Now so help me if you do not release my friend within ten seconds I will kill you." At first they look a little shocked (the striped dude looked a mix of angry and embarrassed) but then the spanish one starts to laugh and they all join in like the perfect little herd of following sheep that they are. "Fine. Have it your way." I mutter under my breath.

I quickly nod my head at Jace and he makes sure the others get the memo. I wait for the right moment when I can make eye contact with Simon and I mouth one word, _bite._

Immediately, Simon digs his teeth into the leader's hand. The vampire drops him and Simon scurries down to us. I run towards him, pick him up and take cover. "ATTACK!" I hear and hope I'm far enough out of the way. My instincts tell me to make a run for it, but the others are fighting. Finally I submit and stuff Simon in my jacket. "Stay there." I whisper down to him. He answers with a squeak.

I tighten my grip on my dagger. I wait for a vampire to wander close enough to the column I'm hiding behind, and then pounce. I plunge my dagger into where I think his heart should be, and I get lucky. He bursts into ash and I move onto the next. I continue, looking for the others, but find no one. I plunge my dagger into vampire after vampire. Surprisingly these things are easy to kill. It's probably because they're unnamed henchmen.

Just as I raise my dagger to strike again I feel my arm pulled back. An arm appears around my neck and starts to squeeze. I see familiar stripes and know who it is. "How's this for personal space?" I hear whispered into my ear. The edges of my vision are starting to haze. I hear a crash, like shattering glass, reverberate through the room and hear some screams to accompany it. I take my chance, and while the vampire is distracted I bite down hard on the arm. I then kick him repeatedly in the stomach, then head. I see no sign of my dagger anywhere though.

For some odd reason I begin sneezing uncontrollably, and then I look up. Giant wolfs have joined the fight. That's probably why my dog allergies are acting up. If I didn't know any better I would say this is starting to look like Twilight. I'm not sure whose side their one, but for now I decide stay away. I see the vampire's leader shouting at one of them, and then notice Jace fighting right next to them. I run over, avoiding sharp fangs and claws, and still suffering through my sneezing fit.

Just as I reach Jace I hear the wolf yell "We came for the girl." The area immediately around us seemed to stop fighting momentarily. "Who?" Asks the vampire.

"The human girl." The wolf flings a stiff arm out at me. I brush it away. "Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to point?" I say sassily. I'm about to say something else but I sneeze.

"You didn't tell me you knew any werewolves." I hear Jace say behind me. "I don't." I answer simply back, with a sneeze. I hear someone say "God bless you." I look up to see was but my thank you is lost when I notice most of the fighting's stopped, and almost every head is turned my way. Isabelle and Alec included, who have somehow managed to rejoin our group.

"You can't have her." The lead vampire says. "She trespassed on our ground; therefore she's ours."

"Technically, it wasn't trespassing just visiting, we were just getting our friend ba-" Jace clasps his hand over my mouth.

The werewolf ignores me and laughs. "I'm so glad you said that." And launchs himself midair. I look at Jace for a plan of action, but for now everyone seems to be ignoring us. Then I notice a door that looks like a convenient exit. I poke Jace and point towards it. He gets my message. We all run towards it as quickly as possible. My instinct proves correct, and behind the door is a convenient flight of stairs.

We begin to climb them, but with every step it seems like it's going to come crashing down. Every few minutes I sneeze, making matters worse. A few moments later I hear from the ballroom "Where'd they go?!" I'm not sure if it's a vampire or werewolf, but honestly I don't care.

A few moments after that two werewolves burst through the door, and I think I can hear a vampire behind them. It doesn't matter though because soon they'll all be here. I hear Jace yell "Run" and we all follow his lead. We explode into the night air and I realize we're on the roof. Unfortunately there's no way down. "What now?" I ask, trying to sound calm while silently freaking out. "The bikes!" Jace yells.

He says this and I look over and realize that for some reason there are all these motorcycles on the roof. Jace doesn't waste anytime though, just grabs my arm and hops on one of them. Isabelle and Alec jump on the second. I hear the door explode with a crash behind us. I'm afraid to look back. I see Isabelle and Alec have driven off, and for some reason their biuke flies. I only hope ours does the same.

But Jace is having trouble starting it. Finally I feel the engine start and we ram forward. Then I feel a tight tug on my leg and grip Jace tighter. I look back and see that stupid striped suit vampire is holding onto my leg. I kick continuously while yelling in rhythm with my kicks, "When will you get it? I AM NOT GOING TO DATE YOU." With my last word I put all my strength into my kick, and the vampire goes flaying off. "I hope that's finally the last I see of him."

"Don't you just hate ex-s?" Jace says, and I can't help but laugh as we follow Isabelle and Alec while riding our flying motorcycle over New York and away from Hotel Dumort.

We all got back fine. Even Simon eventually turned back into a human. And a plus is that my uncontrollable sneezing stopped after a while (and a whole box of tissues). So now there's not really that much more to do, so I decide to take the day off. I sleep in late, draw a little, but my mind keeps wandering back to my home.

What happens if I don't make it back? Will everyone just forget about, think I ran away? Maybe time doesn't pass in here. I think about it all, and miss my comfy bed.

A knock on the door wakes me out of my thoughts. _Probably Jace._ "Come in." I say with a sigh. It's not that I don't think he's charming or handsome, but I really need to focus on getting home, not getting a date. But surprisingly Simon walks in. "Drawing?" I look down at the tree I was sketching. "Yep." I answer. I move over and motion for Simon to sit down next to me on the bed. He's the closest thing I have to a friend, even if it's only because of Clary.

"So how was being a rat?" I ask, honestly curious. Simon rolls his eyes. "Well, first it was disorienting. I was suddenly ankle-level with everyone. I thought I'd drunk a shrinking potion, but I couldn't figure out why I had this urge to chew used gum wrappers." I laugh. Simon's a funny guy.

I lose my focus for a moment and stare out the window. The day is almost over and the sun is setting. I turn back and Simon's asleep. I don't want to wake him, but I also don't want to sit here till he wakes up. I decide to head to the library, maybe read a book, clear my head.

I'm halfway down the hall, when I hear this really eerie piano music. The notes seem to whirl in spirals through the air, and I follow them. They lead to the library. At first I don't know where their coming from, but then I see a piano tucked away in a corner. I don't know how I didn't see it in the first place. I see a flash of golden hair bouncing behind it and I know Jace is playing. Figures, the perfect supernatural bad boy who plays piano; it actually does sound a little like Twilight. I'm about to leave, but then I decide that maybe I could give him a chance, plus it does follow the plot (I think).

"That's surprisingly decent. I didn't know you played." I startle him. I sit down on the bench next to him.

"I've been playing sense I was little." He answers. He flips his hair in a flash of yellow.

"Well, all that practice has really paid off." There's an awkward silence between us. "Erm, I wanted to thank you, for going after Simon with me. You really didn't have to, and I nearly got us all killed." He looks at the keys of the piano.

"I knew that if I didn't come with you, you'd get yourself killed."

"I don't really think I matter enough to put everyone else's lives at risk." Jace locks eyes with me. He looks surprised, as if it was obvious.

"Clary, you're important. I don't know why you can't see it." I feel a little uncomfortable.

"I'll take that as a compliment." I say, trying to get the lighter atmosphere from a moment ago back. It's not working. This time Jace says something. "Happy Birthday." I'm really confused. It's not my birthday for two months. Oh, wait, _Clary's_ birthday…Right. "Not until tomorrow." I answer. He smiles. "There's no reason not to start celebrating now." My stomach grumbles. "Mind if we get some food first?"

He pulls a brown bag out from nowhere. Where was he keeping it? "I sneaked some food from the kitchen when Isabelle wasn't looking." He say with a mischievous smile. "A picnic? It's a little later for Central Park, don't you think? It's full of-"

He waved a hand. "Faeries. I know."

"I was going to say muggers," I say, "though I pity the mugger who goes after you."

"That is a wise attitude and I commend you for it," said Jace, looking gratified. "But I wasn't thinking of Central Park. How about the greenhouse?" Not loving where this is going, but I'll just go with it. "As long as there aren't any muggers." I joke.

"I'm not making any promises." With that we leave the library.

We enter the greenhouse, but I'm winded from all the stair and can barely breathe. I need to exercise more. And who puts a greenhouse on a roof?

When I catch my breath I say, "Wow, it really is beautiful. What kind of flowers are these though?" Jace shrugs and sits down next to a glossy green shrub dotted all over with tightly closed flower buds. "No idea. You think I pay attention in botany class? I'm not going to be an archivist."

"You're right. How foolish of me. I'm sure you don't pay attention in any classes." I smile so he knows I'm kidding, but I still stay standing. "The only thing I learned was how to make a mean cheese sandwich. Try one." I hate cheese. But I've been mean enough to Jace already. I reluctantly take one and try to act like I'm really pleased. "Delicious." I lie. Luckily I think Jace is buying it.

"It's not a birthday cake, but hopefully it's better than nothing." Yeah. I guess that's true. It's the thought that counts.

"I was expecting nothing, so thanks." I still stand there awkwardly.

"Nobody should get nothing on their birthday. Birthdays should be special. My birthday was always the one day my father said I could do or have anything I wanted." Jace should meet my parents. No of this have whatever you want it's your day lies…Although I bet it would be nice to actually have whatever you wanted. "Anything? What could a five-year old Jace possibly ask for when given anything?" I ask.

"Promise you won't laugh." I roll my eyes. "Not really, but I'll make an exception."

"I wanted to take a bath in spaghetti." I laugh and Jace makes a puppy dog pout. "How was it?" I ask.

"Incredible. And slippery." I laugh. "I know what I'm asking for next year." I say. Then I look down, thinking about how I may never have a birthday next year. I'm kicked out of my thoughts when I hear a bell tolling. "Midnight." Jace says. "Now watch."

He's focused on the green shrub he was sitting next to. "Wow. Crazy. It looks…_Exactly the same." _He pokes me. "Just watch." I roll my eyes.

A moment later one of the tightly closed buds began to quiver and tremble. It swells to twice its size and burst open. All of the other buds also began to follow until there was a collage of rainbow petals. It's a little corny, but I'm oddly touched. "Thanks." I look up to find him watching me.

"Happy Birthday, Clarissa Fray." I actually don't know what to say. This is getting a little too romantic for me.

"I have something else for you." Oh no. He's digging into his pockets. Maybe I can still make a run for it. Instead I just stand there with a fake smile plastered on my face as he pulls out a gray stone.

"Huh. When most girls say they want a big rock, they don't literally mean, _a big rock._"

"Very amusing, my sarcastic friend. It's not a rock. It's a witchlight rune-stone."

"So, a rock?" I raise an eyebrow and I see Jace roll his eyes.

"It will always bring you light." I take it and it feels cool in my hands. I drop it into my back pocket.

"I will always treasure your rock." Then there's nothing else to say except "We should probably go back downstairs." I turn to go, then trip on a vine that comes out from nowhere. I feel Jace grab my waist and twist me around, so he's just holding me there. I can feel him leaning in to kiss, but I catch a flash of movement behind a bush and I shriek. Jace tenses up and I feel his hands loosen around my waist. I go falling to floor, and land inches away from a puddle. "Oww. You dropped me!" I yell from the floor while inspecting myself for damage.

"You yelled in my ear!" Jace says. I think I can see his cheeks blushing.

"Oh yeah. I saw someone behind that bush over there." I point in the direction. He raises an eyebrow. "I'll go check it out." He says. I slowly stand up. My butt is killing me. I can't believe I fought vampires and werewolves at the same time, but I get hurt kissing. "Nothing's over here." I hear Jace say. I have a nagging suspicion that something _is_ over there and I think I know what. Or who.

I walk over to Jace, but also see no one behind the bush. He must've run off. Or at least moved. "Come on. Let's go downstairs." Before Jace can reply I just walk away. I feel my cheeks growing hot this time.

We get down to my room. I'm planning on saying a quick goodbye and going to sleep. Jace has other plans. "Thank you for the picnic it was lovely. But I'm really tired right now, so I'm just gonna-"

"You're really tired already? But we were having such a, stimulating conversation." He says with a smile. He leans in, and I try to lean away, but the wall is behind me, and before I can stop him, his lips are touching mine. At first it's light and soft, but slowly his passion emerges and then there's a stronger pressure. I don't kiss back, but I don't pull away. Then I hear the door open beside us. I pull away, and Simon is standing right beside us.

"What the hell?" He looks bewildered.

"What do you mean 'what the hell'? Have you never seen someone kissing before?" He doesn't even answer just stares at us with fury. I glance at Jace, and he also seems angry.

"In the future, Clarissa, it might be wise to mention that you already have a man in your bed, to avoid such tedious situations." Jace says.

"Hold up!" I say. "First off, Simon, I am allowed to kiss or make out with whomever I chose. You are not my mother, you do not control my life. And Jace, who ever said that I was going to invite you to into my room, let alone my bed? And _you _were the one that kissed me! How dare you get mad at me for letting Simon sleep in my bed? We were hanging out as _friends._ But I guess that I'm just not allowed to have other friend because all my attention should be devoted to you. And on that point, I'm so sick of you two picking on each other. I don't care if its jealousy or just men being testosterone driven, but frankly, I don't care. Now if you two don't mind, I am _very _tired, so I'm going to bed. If you wish to be pissy about what happened tonight, please do it in the morning." I turn to go. Jace begins, "But-"

I cut him off and reply harshly, "I said, _Goodnight._" With that I slam the door shut. I immediately flop onto my bed ready to take a long nap.

"That was a little harsh, don't you think?" I hear a voice say. I pry my eyes open and turn around. Good' old Captain Nemo is standing by the door. "They were getting on my nerves, and I'm very tired. I don't know if you've noticed, but I get very snappy when I'm tired." I tell him.

"I was under the impression you're always snappy." Nemo says. Normally I would have gone off on him too, but I just give him a weary smile. "So are you dropping in on me for fun, or do you have some good news?" I ask.

He walks over toward the chair sitting in the corner across from the bed I'm sitting on. He sits down. "You looked like you could use a hand."

"Are you kidding?" I roll my eyes. "I could have used your help while we were fighting the vampires and werewolves." I yawn.

"Well, luckily you're almost to the climax. It happens tomorrow."

"Finally." I moan. "I'm getting antsy. So what is this 'big climax' anyhow?" I ask.

"You find the cup, that's one thing. Then there's this big confrontation with Valentine" "That doesn't surprise me." I interrupt. "Sorry, continue."

"There isn't really much more. So far you've done a good job with laying low and avoiding the Editors. As long as you can make it safely through the ending, you should be able to safely jump to the next fanfiction."

"Which is?"

"I don't want to tell you."

"What?! Why not?"

"Um, I just want to leave it a surprise." I am so suspicious, but I just let it slide.

"Alright, whatever. So how do I get to this climax?"

"Oh right. So the cup is hidden within the tarot cards your mother painted for Dorothea. There's a rune that you can use that'll allow you to withdraw the cup from the card. It's really quite simple." I think about it for a moment.

"Ok. Anything else I should know about?"

"Nope. Oh wait! Madame Dorothea's a demon."

"Ok, well, yeah, that would be nice to know." This seems actually kind of simple.

"Great. Now, if you really don't mind, there's a good chance someone is listening, and in that case they probably think I'm crazy. And I'm also really tired, so if you could leave or jump or whatever you call it, that'd be great."

"Of course I don't mind. Every girl needs her beauty sleep. Especially right before the 'big climax'" He says mocking me. I would normally slap him, but I'm too tired, and also when I look back he's gone.

So I lay my head down and instantly fall asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

The sun burns my eyes as I force them open. I'm still in a terrible mood. I just want to stay in bed, but I can't fall asleep and I know I'll just have to get up eventually, so I roll out of bed.

I just leave my pj's on and trudge outside. Thankfully the kitchen is deserted. I grab some cereal and milk, planning to take it to my bedroom. Unfortunately just as I'm about to hightail it out of there, I hear someone opening the door. I turn and it's Jace, _of course._

"Good morning." I try to say as cheerfully as possible. He doesn't answer. "So I assume you're still not over your little tantrum. Whenever you're ready to face me, just let me know." I open the door to go but he doesn't answer. "Fine, be that way. Oh goodness I'd almost forgotten. I've figured out where the cup is hidden. Whenever you guys feel like going after it, I'll be in my room." I think I hear him drop a plate but I don't stay to find out.

I few hours later I hear a knock on my door. It's Hodge. "Hello." I say. "Clary." There's a long silence. "Where is it?" I let a moment slip by. "The cup? It's at my apartment."

Once we're all ready to go (Jace is still not talking to me) we meet at the giant wooden main entrance. "So how are we going to get there?" There's a long silence. "Are you telling me no one thought about this?" Still no one answers. "Ok, we can't haul it on the subway, it's too valuable. Anyone have a car?" No one answers. "None of you have cars? Are you kidding?" I say in disbelief.

"We've never needed a car before. Plus it's not like we can exactly get a driver's license, we don't technically exist." Isabelle says, also seeming pissed off at me.

"Fine. I have an idea. You guys got a phone?" A few minutes later I hear Simon pick up the phone. "Hey. I need your help. Wait, scratch that. I need your car and your driving skills." He reluctantly agrees.

After the awkward silence in the car, getting to my apartment is a relief. This should be easy, as long as I can avoid Dorothea figuring out we're after the cup. We get inside and everyone starts walking upstairs. "Where are you going?" I ask and everyone turns back to look at me. "You said it was in your apartment." Jace says, with a little glare.

"I meant apartment _complex._ It's in Dorothea's." I knock on the door and at first no one answers, but then it opens a crack. Dorothea peers out. "What do you want?" She hisses.

"I just want to get my mother's tarot cards. You see, it's the only thing I have left of her now, and, you know, I'd just like to have them." I say with a pout that hopefully makes her feel some sympathy. She raises an eyebrow. "Then why do you have Shadowhunters with you?"

"Oh, um, because last time we came here I nearly got killed, and we just want to play it safe." I don't think she's buying it, because she leaves and shuts the door. I look back at them. I'm about to say sorry and that we'll just have to come up with something else, when I hear the door open again and see the deck of tarot cards hit me squarely in the face. I'm not even mad though. I feel a huge smile spread over my face. "Perfect." And I didn't even awaken the demon in Dorothea.

I try the main entrance door, but it's locked.

"Um, Jace you didn't happen to have accidentally locked us in, did you?" I ask nervously.

"Very funny Clary." He says, no believing me. He tries the door and it still doesn't open.

"I don't like this." I murmur. I hear a maniacal laugh from behind me. Yep. I was right. I'm not gonna like this.

"You won't be able to get out of that door." Madame Dorothea growls. "At least, not alive." Suddenly a dark shape rushes to her from her apartment. It strikes at her and she thrusts her arms upward. The dark thing begins to wrap around her. Her back humps monstrously, her whole shape elongating as she rose and rose into the air, her bulk stretching and reforming.

"You really thought I was going to buy that garbage about wanting your mother's tarot cards for sentiment reasons?" She laughs, and her laugh turns into a roar as she completes her transformation.

"Eww." I say in disgust, looking at her. This really pisses her off. "Uh oh." She lunges at me, but Jace jumps in the way. He blocks her claws with his sword dagger thingy. I _knew_ I should have taken a dagger.

Jace begins to slip, but Isabelle thrashes her whip at the demon. It turns and catches the whip midair. It pulls hard on it, sending Isabelle flying. I can see Alec and he looks really mad. He runs to the beast, but Jace has the same idea. The monster swats Alec away and he lands headfirst into Jace's stomach. So now it seems everyone but me is down for the count. Simon is still in the van, but there's no way I can get a message to him from here.

The demon turns back towards me. I feel fear swelling up in my throat but I push it back down. _What to do? What to do?_ Calm down. Focus. _What can I use as a weapon?_ I notice Jace's sword has flung off to the opposite wall. The only problem is the demon is directly in between it and me. I back up against the wall. I feel something cool and metallic rub against my back. _The fire extinguisher._ I can feel the mischievous smile curl up my cheeks. I've always wanted to do this.

"Well, that was quite a transformation." I say. The demon is very close now. _A few more feet. _"To be honest though, your new face is lacking a bit." _Almost there…Perfect. _"Why don't you let me help you with that?" I say as I shoot the foam in its face. It thrashes back and its legs open wide. I take my opportunity and slide head first underneath them.

I reach the sword just in the nick of time. It has just finished wiping off its face and looks angrier than ever. I grip the sword tightly in my hand. It feels awkward and heavy. I grip tighter because my hands are all sweaty. I think back to what Nemo said about dying and getting hurt. This only hardens my resolve. I squeeze the blade. "I am NOT dying here you ugly b-"

The demon interrupts me with a roar. "It is RUDE to interrupt people!" I scream as I run at it. It rakes its claws at me but I swing my sword. I cut it and I swell with pride. This is actually surprisingly easy. Then I notice skin growing over the wounds. _Great. _So it heals itself.

I run at it again, but suddenly the door bursts open. It's Simon. Before I can say anything he pulls out a bow and arrow _(where'd he get a bow and arrow from?)_ and shoots it at the demon. He misses and my heart sinks, but then I realize he wasn't aiming for the demon, but for the skylight above its head. The glass explodes. Sunlight pours in and the demon starts moaning in agony. It turns into black slime folds in on itself until it's completely disappeared.

"Well done." I say. We help everyone regain consciousness. Luckily no one was badly injured. We all pile into the van and drive back to the institute, with the Mortal Cup successfully in our possession.

The moment we get back everyone rushes in, but I just stay where I am. Simon looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to get out. "Simon, before you get mad, just let me speak." He doesn't say anything so I continue. "Don't ever think I don't care about you, because I do. You are all I have left. I've only known these Shadowhunters for a few days, but I've known you my whole life." Sort of. "I do care about you. I just can't love anyone romantically right now. My life has just turned upside down and I can only focus on getting my mother back." Technically that last part isn't a lie. Whether it's the Clary coming out in me, or if I actually do care about Simon, I want him to know that I care. I clasp his hand and he doesn't pull away. "Simon, just know I do love you. Just not romantically." We sit there for a few minutes not saying anything. Then he looks up and smiles at me. "I know."

I get out of the car. When I get into the library everyone looks really expectant. "Where have you been?" Jace stabs at me with his eyes, as if he knows I was apologizing to Simon.

"I was getting something from my room." I say, which isn't technically a lie. I pull out my sketchbook and flop it on the desk to prove myself. Hodge looks on expectantly, but Jace raises an eyebrow. "What's the point of this?" He asks. I don't answer, just start turning the pages until I find the one with the rune on it. "I remembered this rune so I drew it." I pull out the deck of tarot cards and search through them until I find the one I'm looking for. I can't help but smile. "The stele?" I ask Jace, not looking at him, just staying focused on the card. I feel him reluctantly hand it over. I meticulously begin drawing the rune on with precision. _I hope this works. _

When I'm done I place the card on the table. Nothing happens. Then I remember Nemo saying something about taking it out of the card. So hesitantly I reach in and incredibly I can feel my hands wrap around the cup _inside _the card. I pull it out and stare at it with amazement. Everyone in the room just stares at it for a few moments.

Then Hodge breaks the spell saying, "Isabelle and Alec, go seal off the exit. I don't want anyone to get in here." That's a little suspicious, but I'm sure he just wants to protect the card. Isabelle and Alec run off, leaving Jace and I alone in the library with Hodge. Hodge reaches out his hand for the cup. After a moment I reluctantly give it up. "Maybe you two should go help them." He says.

"I think they're alright on their own." I say, leaking a bit of venom into it. Jace seems a bit confused by my answer, but he also stays. Hodge looks me in the eyes. I see a touch of what? Almost _regret._ Oh no. This is very bad. I don't like where this is going. Hodge has his hands tightly wrapped around the cup. Maybe if I can make a run for it and get Alec and Isabelle they can help us. No, that'd never work. Instead I start inching towards Jace.

Suddenly I hear Hodge whisper something, I couldn't catch what it was though. Then without warning Hugo, Hodge's bird, swoops toward me, separating me from Jace. I grab a lamp directly next to me and swing at the bird just in time. I hear a _caw _and the bird goes down in a flurry of feathers. "JACE!" I shriek. I can't find him until I look down. He is fast asleep like a baby, collapsed at Hodge's feet. I run towards him, but am thrown back. Electricity pulses through me. I stand up, shakily. The world is spinning and I can barely stand. I push myself to stay up though.

"You _traitor_." I hiss at him. "You never notified the Lightwoods, or the Clave did you? You sent Isabelle and Alec out not to barricade demons from getting in, but other _Shadowhunters._ You needed to distract them while you took the cup for yourself."

"Not myself." He says, sounding detached and sorrowful. My eyes narrow into slits.

"_Valentine."_ He nods. Before I can say anything else, the air besides Hodge is shimmering and then it parts like a curtain and a tall man is revealed.

"Starkweather. You have the cup?" Hodge only holds the cup up. I bang against the wall some more. Nothing. I can tell the man is Valentine. He and Hodge start conversing but my mind wanders as I try to discover a way around this force field. I try throwing a book. Nothing. A chair. Nothing. It's as if they can't see or hear me. I scream profanities at them. Then I grab the lamp from before and throw it with all my might at the invisible wall. Instantaneously sparks start flying from it and a moment later it bursts. I don't know how I did it, but it worked and that's what counts. Only now I don't know what to do. I stare right at Valentine, and both he and Hodge stare back at me in disbelief.

"How-" Hodge begins, but falters. A pale outline of an idea starts to form in my head. I decide I might as well give it a go.

"Give me the cup." I say, trying to sound as intimidating as possible. Valentine raises an eyebrow, no longer shocked. He starts to laugh. "And tell me. Why would I do such a thing?" He asks between giggles.

"Because if you give me the cup, _and Jace_, I'll show you where the _real_ cup is hidden." At this he stops laughing and I see his eyes narrow. "The real cup? Don't try to trick me, _little girl_. I'm not a fool."

I giggle a bit. "Is something funny?" He asks, again trying to be intimidating. "I'm sorry." I explain. "It's just so hard to take someone named _Valentine _seriously. I mean, who names a boy child Valentine." I continue to laugh, and I can tell I'm getting on his nerves. I try to calm down. "Since you can't take me seriously, I'll just be going." He says, full of rage.

"Very well, it's your choice. But it'd be a shame if you walk away and fail at destroying all the demons or whatever it is you're aspiring to do because you wouldn't listen to a _little girl_." I mock him (no longer laughing). I can see I have him now. "I was suspicious of Hodge when he said he was sending messages to the Lightwoods and the Clave. When I asked him about it he dodged the question. My suspicion grew. I learned that cheap parlor trick of taking drawings and making them real, and I had an idea. I knew I had to make Hodge think I knew the cup was hidden somewhere my mom could get to, and I distinctly remembered one tarot card she drew with a cup on it. From there it was rather easy actually. And just as I thought, Hodge revealed himself a _traitor._" I spit the last word out. "Just give me the cup and Jace and I'll show you where the real cup is."

"Clary-" Hodge begins, but is cut off midsentence by a look from Valentine. He tilts his head to the side and stares at me and if trying to view me from a different angle. "Clary." He mutters to himself. He starts walking towards me. Out of the corner of my eye I see Jace twitch.

I try to back up, but walk against a desk. Just my luck. "Clary. Short for Clarissa, I assume?" I don't like where this is going. I don't answer. "Clary," His face softens, but I can still see the manipulating genius hidden behind his eyes. "I am your father."

I'm silent for a moment. I'm not surprised there's a plot twist like this, I just don't know why I didn't see it before. Then I think about how to use this. I get another twisted idea. "But my mom, how could she lie to me like this? Letting me believe my father is _dead?_" I pretend to be upset, and Valentine comes in to comfort me. "She only did it to protect you, but _yes_. It was wrong of her. But it's alright because I'm here now."

I hug him tighter. I can almost reach the cup that he tucked into his back pocket. Then I notice Jace is gone. Valentine can feel me tense up and he pulls away. "What's wrong?" He asks, not genuinely worried. "Um, I just, I just would feel horrible if I tricked my own father into taking the wrong cup! You must believe me. The cup you have is a fake, and if you would just-"

Suddenly Jace jumps out with a sword and holds it at Valentine's neck. Valentine doesn't even look mad. "Jace. Please put the sword down." Jace looks a bit confused and then looks at me as if waiting for an answer. Valentine also looks at me as if he's waiting for me to tell Jace. "Oh, um, yeah Jace you can put the sword down." Hopefully Jace buys what Valentine is going to tell him so I can continue on with my plan.

"Jace." Valentine begins. "Clarissa is my daughter." I try hard not to laugh as Jace's jaw drops to the floor. "And Jace you are my son." Hold up.

"He's your SON? So then I'm his SISTER? Oh god, oh god, and we were _making out_. Oh this is _so so _wrong. It's like an even more twisted version of Game of Thrones because we didn't even_ know_. Oh _god._ And you were going to come into my _bed._ Oh god." I freak out to myself as Jace tries to absorb it all. "I'm going to puke! You might have warned us a little _earlier._ Some help you are. Oh god, _so gross."_

Jace drops the sword to the floor. I stop ranting to stare at him. He's pale as a ghost and is starting to tilt. Valentine helps him into a chair. "Daddy?" I say, really hamming it up. "I think you should really give me the cup so we can go get the real one. Isabelle and Alec will be coming in any moment now." Jace looks confused at this. I don't want him to start contradicting me though and messing up all my plans, so I try to subtly tell him, "Isn't that right Jace? _That I just pulled a cup from a random tarot card to prove Hodge was a double agent?" _He stills looks confused, but luckily he just nods his head.

Valentine begins to hand it over, but Hodge interrupts him. I'd forgotten he was still here. "Valentine. I didn't know I sw-" Valentine only looks at him like he's looking at yesterday's garbage. Disgusted. He hands the cup over to me. "Great." Uh oh, now I need to come up with a fake real cup. What? "It's in, um, my room, yeah. I'll show you." We start walking towards the great doors of the library, when suddenly they burst open. A wall of wind slaps us, even though they don't connect outside.

Then I see the men in white suits. They look almost futuristic and I know immediately they don't belong here. They must be the Editors. _Oh no. Shit shit shit. _I see them all lock their targets on me and sprint in my direction.

I don't know what to do. I turn away. I hear my name shouted in the background. I run in the opposite direction, but only a great window that overlooks the busy city streets lay ahead. No exit.

I push over bookshelves and desks, and anything I can find, but they're catching up. Thankfully this is a really big library and I can probably run for a while before hitting a dead end. Valentine, Jace, and Hodge just stare in disbelief/confusion. The mortal cup is still in my hands. I quickly examine my situation and know there's only one way out.

I pick up speed and sprint towards the back wall. I throw the cup in front of me cracking the window and exploding fragments of glass that bend the light everywhere. I hear a gasp from someone behind me. I just run forward. I reach the end and with all my might I jump onto a desk and propel myself into the night sky. _Please work, please work_. I pray. I scream but my cries are lost into the night. I think I can hear Jace screaming my name, but it is so faint it could also just be the wind. The mortal cup is somewhere below me, but it's the least of my worries. I only stare up at the broken window and the Editors leaning out from it, and I instinctually spread my arms like wings, and slowly it all fades away into blackness.


	7. Chapter 7

My head is killing me. _My head is killing me._ Does this mean I'm alive? I hear noises of something shuffling around me. I slowly pry my eyes open. _I don't understand. _I'm standing in a giant plaza. There are people zigzagging all around me. Maybe heaven this is heaven. Not really like I pictured it. This place looks familiar. Wait a moment. I'm in Grand Central Station. That means I'm alive! I survived! That means it my jump worked and I'm in another story. What story is this? Maybe I'm in a fanfiction?

I realize I'm lying on the floor. I start to get up, but a hand jumps out in front of me. "Ahcak!" I say, no making coherent noises. I look up. The hand is attached to an arm, which is attached to a body. The man looks down at me concerned. "Are you all right Miss van der Woodsen?" I realize he's talking to me. "Oh, um, yes." I take his hand as he helps me up. "Thank you very much."

"My pleasure, Miss van der Woodsen." He's wearing what looks like a butler uniform. Could he be a butler? _My _butler? Where am I?

He stares at me, as if waiting for a command. "Um, right, as you were." I say, trying to sound official. It sounds stupid even to me. The butler gives me a confused glance, and then conceals it, as a good butler should.

Suddenly I hear a bodiless female voice. She's talking about someone named Serena, boarding schools, and she calls herself the _gossip girl._ What…Could it be? No, no way. I probably miss heard her.

I notice that my clothes have changed. What am I _wearing?_ The short mini skirt and low cut shirt are not something I would ever be caught dead wearing. I'm also wearing knee high boots. Beside me are two suitcases. I go to grab them, but the butler takes them before I can. "I'll take care of these Miss van der Woodsen. An heiress such as yourself shouldn't have to stress herself over such tedious things." I'm an heiress?

"Right of course, Jiles." I say. Jiles sounds about right for a butler. Jiles only gives me another confused glance. Out of the corner of my eye I see a familiar boy leaning on a rail. "Would you excuse me for a moment, Jiles?" He gives me another confused look before I walk away.

When I get to Nemo I follow him to the bathroom. "That was quite a stunt you pull off back there. I see you met the Editors."

"Yeah. And I would like to not meet them again." I say.

"Well, if you don't go messing around with the story, you won't."

"I wasn't! I was just doing what felt natural. Following my instinct."

"Clearly that is a lie."

"It is not!"

"Is to."

"Is not."

"Is to."

"_Is not._"

"Is to."

"_IS NOT!_" I yell. He says nothing for a moment.

"Is to."

"I'm gonna kill you!" I lunge at him. Suddenly a woman emerges from a stall. She gasps. "Oh madam. Sorry. I wasn't talking to you. Just, um, talking to myself." I say. She still looks horrified and scampers out. "Whoops." I say. Nemo starts laughing at me. "Smooth." HE says sarcastically. I'm about to lunge at him again, but think better of it.

"So where am I?" I ask. He suddenly looks stressed.

"Promise you won't try to kill me again?" I roll my eyes.

"Please. It can't be _that _bad." He makes a face. "Oh." I murmer. "Fine. I promise I won't try to kill you." He smiles.

"Good. Then in that case, you are in Gossip Girl." For a moment it doesn't absorb.

"I'm sorry. What? I must have heard you wrong, I thought for a moment there you said I was in-"

"Gossip Girl. Yeah. That's what I said." I tense up. I just stare at him. I can feel my eye twitch a bit in annoyance. "Gossip Girl?"

"Gossip Girl." I take a moment. "GOSSIP GIRL?!" I exclaim, losing it. "I'm in Gossip Girl? Of all the fandoms… I've never even seen it to know that it's horrible!"

"Hey, it's not that bad if you give it a chance. It's actually very well written." My anger stops for a moment. "Are you telling me _you _watch Gossip Girl?" I ask in disbelief.

"I don't _watch_ it, or _read_ it, but it's actually a fun story to be in. And yes, it is very well written." I don't answer. I just sulk to myself. I _had_ to end up in Gossip Girl, just my luck.

"Did you get any souvenirs?" I hear Nemo ask, snapping me out of my tantrum.

"What's a souvenir?" I ask.

"Sometimes you get to keep a small momentum from a story. It stays with you for a while, but as you get further from the story, it fades away." _Cool,_ I think, remembering all the epic swords and weapons from The Mortal Instruments. I notice a hard weight in my back pocket. I get excited. I reach back and-"A rock?"

"No. It's the witchlight Jace gave you."

"So, a rock?" Nemo rolls his eyes. "I guess I'll keep it, maybe it'll come in handy in the future I say, slipping it into my back pocket. Thinking about the rock reminds me of Jace. I get a pit in my stomach.

"What are you thinking about?" Nemo asks.

"What happens to the people, um, characters, after you leave?" I ask, trying to sound unconcerned, but I can hear the serious tone behind my voice. Nemo can hear it too.

"Jace will be fine. The Editors will erase all their memories and reset the story. It takes a while, based on how much damage was done. That's why The Outsiders took such a long time." He explains. I giggle, remembering how everyone thought I was insane. I did too. I still do.

I feel better knowing Jace won't be harmed. I just need to get through Gossip Girl. It shouldn't be too hard. I can do this. One step closer to getting home.

"Alright. So who am I exactly? I'm not very familiar with this fandom."

"You are Serena van der Woodsen. Your mother is incredibly rich, and you live in a penthouse. Your brother recently tried to commit suicide but your mom doesn't want anyone to know. You went to boarding school and have decided to come back. Blair is your best friend and is dating Nate, who you had sex with a few summer ago-"

"I made love to my best friend's boyfriend?" I ask incredulously.

"Who have been going out since kindergarten."

"Jesus." This is one _messed up _girl.

"Blair is suspicious and jealous of you because you are fabulous and everyone wants to be you."

"You're too kind." I joke.

"Hilarious." Nemo says sarcastically. "And Chuck is a man whore. He will have sex with any girl who crosses his path, especially you because you're hot."

"Lovely." It's my turn to be sarcastic. "So what's with the bodiless voice then?"

"Oh. That's the gossip girl. She has a website where she posts gossip about people. No one knows who she is, or if it even is a girl. For all we know gossip girl could be a guy. And she should be posting gossip about you being back any moment now."

"Alright, anything else I should know?" He takes a moment to think.

"Not that I can think of."

"Ok. As long as no one unexpectantly turns into a demon, I should be all right." I turn to go, but stop as I catch a glance of myself in the mirror. I instinctively grimace_._ My hair is still red, but has begun to shade to blonde. Unfortunately my skin has gotten much tanner and it looks frightening against my hair. My cheek bones have gotten higher. Overall I just look like a mismatched freak. Hopefully everyone else sees me as a normal Serena. My stomach turns. I've only been here a few minutes. Luckily I can still recognize myself (a little). I just wish I had my good old normal not unnaturally tan face back. I get a sense of dread about losing myself, but shake it off.

"Bye Captain Nemo." I joke.

"Just Nemo."

"Oh come on, can't I call you Captain Nemo?"

"No."

"Alright then, bye." I open the door and leave. Then I jump back. "Captain." I say. He looks annoyed. I leave before he can say anything. That's payback for being so annoying before.

Jiles leads the way to a fancy stretch limousine. We ride it to an even fancier penthouse on the Museum Mile. Honestly, I can get used to this. I have literally everything I could ever want. I'm in the middle of chilling on my fancy new bed, watching my fancy new TV, when Serena's mom comes in. She says something about going to a party. I tell her that I'd rather just stay here and bask in the glory of all my lovely things, but she will have none of it. She says it will be a great opportunity to announce my official return, and that's the end of the conversation.

I look through the closet, but end up getting lost. To be fair, it's gigantic and basically a labyrinth. After twenty minutes I find my way out, but still have no dress. I don't want to wander to far back in, but I still need a dress. Although, maybe I can just wear some jeans and a sweatshirt. Unfortunately, after twenty more minutes of searching for a sweatshirt in Serena's gigantic multiple drawers I find some suitable jeans, but still no sweatshirt. Then Serena's mom comes back in.

"Where's your dress sweetie?" She asks.

"I couldn't find one. I was just going to wear jeans and a sweatshirt." She looks at me in horror, and then laughs.

"Very funny. But really, where's your dress?" I just stare at her. "I was just about to go get one." I lie. She smiles. "Great." Then walks away.

I stare at the entrance to the closet. "Noooo…" I mumble. Then sigh and give in. Luckily I find a dress that is cute and also not incredibly short. I make it back into the bedroom and put it on. It's a deep red high-low skirt with a lacey trim. I navigate my way to the living room where I find my mother. We leave, but I'm in a terrible mood for this party.


	8. Chapter 8

We get to the party. It's on the top floor of a fancy New York apartment building. I skim the crowd, but see no one I know. Unlike in The Mortal Instruments I don't have any of Serena's memories. I do have a vague feeling that everyone knows me, though. It feels like they're all talking about me. I look back, but Serena's mom is gone and I'm all alone.

"Serena van der Woodsen!" I hear behind me. I turn and see a woman racing towards me as she embraces me. "What a lovely surprise!"

She squeezes me tighter. "I-I can't breathe." I get out. She loosens up. "Sorry dearie. But I'm just so excited."

"It's fine. It's, um, great to see you." I fake a smile. She jabbers on about good old times and Blair and I miss most of it because she's talking so fast. "Hello, hello, hello!" And then she's talking to Serena's mom, who had reappeared. I try to slip away while they rush into a conversation. Unfortunately all the other parents have started hugging and welcoming me. _Who are these people? _Jeez, this girl is popular.

"Got you a drink." I hear behind me. It's a boy. He's elbowing the clusters of parents out of the way. "Welcome back." He adds, ducking down to kiss my cheek and missing it intentionally, so that his lips landed on mine.

"Do I know you?" I ask in shock. He looks back at me also shocked. Before he can answer I take a step away from him. I'm so tempted to explain to him why kissing people without their consent is wrong and if I wanted to I could report him for sexual harassment. But I remember that Serena probably wouldn't say that. So instead I just say coolly, "And I don't drink." I don't know this guy, but I can tell already that I don't like him.

Then I catch sight of two people across the room. A very handsome boy and a girl tailing behind him stare back at me. "Who's that?" I ask the guy from before. He stares at me in confusion again. "Nate and Blair? Your best friend and her boyfriend?"

I take a moment to remember who he's talking about. Then I remember the little summary that Nemo gave me. Oh, then the guy next to me must be Chuck. Captain Nemo was right, Chuck _is _a man whore.

I look back at Blair and Nate, but they're gone. "So, what have you been up to?" I hear behind me. I jump. I turn, and there's Blair and Nate. "Oh, hi. Sorry. I guess I'm still a little skittish from The Mortal Instruments." They look at me with confusion, and I don't think it's possible for Chuck to look any more confused than he is. _Did I say that out loud? _"I mean, um, I'm skittish from, um, The Mortal Instruments. It's a movie, yeah, this really scary movie that I just watched. It's horrifying."

Blair raises an eyebrow in disgust, Nate is still goo-goo eyeing me, and I think I just broke Chuck. I think back about what Nemo said about me messing up The Mortal Instruments and The Outsiders. _Oh no, he was right. _No. I'm not going to mess this up. I look again at Blair, Nate, and Chuck, and they seem to be buying it. Whew, _nice save. _

"We missed you." Nate says.

"I missed you two, too." I lie. I don't know where to go from there. I was never good at small talk…

Then Nate holds up his glass, "Who wants another?" I wish I could fill awkward silences as naturally as him. "I'll make them." He says.

Everyone raises their hands, except for me. Nate looks at me, confused. "You're not going to drink?" He asks.

"Oh no, I don't drink." They all stare at me. _Way to mess up again. _"I mean I don't drink anymore." I add a smile. They stare for another moment, then just let it go.

Then Serena's mother reappears. "Serena, Eleanor would like us all to sit down. She made an extra place next to Blair for you, so you two girls can catch up." _Wonderful._

I trudge over to where Blair is sitting. The sit right beside her has my name on it. I reluctantly sit down. Before I can say anything a woman comes over and offers me a drink.

"No thank you." I simply say. Why don't these people understand that I legally a minor and _don't drink?_

My palms are starting to feel all gross and sweaty. I was never good at small talk, especially not with the "popular crowd". I really just liked to stick to my friend group. A wave of homesickness mixed with nausea crashes over me. My friends. My home, my school, all gone now. The worst part is I try to recall what the name of my school is, or _was_, but I can't. This only makes me feel worse and I now have a headache. I need to take my mind of this.

"So Blair, um, how've you been? I've missed you so much!" I say over exaggeratedly. It's how most popular people talked at my school. Blair doesn't appreciate my enthusiasm though and just rolls her eyes as if I wasn't sitting right next to her.

"Fine." She mumbles under her breath. I feel the anger well up inside of me. _Don't say anything, stay calm, stay calm. _I tell myself. I know that if I mess this up I may never get home, but this girl is asking for it. I take a deep breath.

"Fine? That's it?" I don't even know why I say it but I really want to get back at Blair and I blurt out, "I guess it's no fun around here without me." I add a condescending smile just to piss her off. I see anger flare in her eyes.

"Well, we can't all be sluts like you." That's it. I stand up and tower over Blair.

"How dare you." I say, drawing every eye on the room to me, and I don't even care. "How dare you accuse me of being a slut. You have no proof to go on but _rumors_. And not even creative rumors. And they're only created because people like _you_ are jealous of me. But what right have you to judge me? I'm sure you've done just as bad, if not worse deeds, and yet I'm the one who is supposedly a slut." I lean in really close to her, so our noses are touching. "I don't care what you say, I will not let it bother me."

Everyone in the room has their eyes fixed on me, and I just hosed everything up and might as well go all out at this point. I jump up onto my chair and on the table.

"And it's not just Blair, its all of you." I say, really hamming it up. I raise my arms and circle motioning to everyone. You are all so content to sit safely in your high towers and look down and judge everyone below you. That's all you do with your lives. You have a chance to do something with this privilege you've been given. All this money you have and you do what? You throw extravagant parties that mean nothing. They're just a chance to flaunt your power. _Pathetic."_ I spit out. I reach down and grab a candlestick off the table. "Tell me how much was this? 100, 200, 1000 dollars? Blair, tell me how much was that dress you're wearing. $2000, $5000? A dress you're only ever going to wear once. And how many other dresses do you have just sitting in your closet? And I'm just as bad. As I was getting ready for this party I literally got lost in my closet. For a good fifteen, twenty minutes. That's how big my closet is." I gaze out over them all dramatically. I've completely killed all my chances of passing for normal, and I don't care anymore.

"All I'm saying is if we focus our money and influence on something important, something worthwhile, we can change the world. I know it. We can leave something helpful on this Earth when we die. Something that actually means something." Everyone is silent. I'm not sure if they're in scared or in shock.

"Wow that was pretty inspiring." I hear Nemo say behind me. I turn to look at him. He now has red spiky hair and seems lanker and taller. "New look?" I ask mockingly.

Of course no one else in the room can see or hear Nemo, so I'm pretty sure that if they thought I was mad before, they must think I'm freaking insane now. Oh well.

"I picked it up in the Capital." He says.

"Capital, like the Hunger Games?" I ask. He nods.

"Who the hell are you talking to?" Chuck asks impatiently.

"None of your business, and I would watch that mouth of yours if I was you." I turn back to Nemo.

"So what now?" He shrugs. "You can't really jump safely without a proper climax. At least not at your amateur level." I roll my eyes.

"So what am I supposed to do?" I ask. He shrugs again.

"No idea. You could wait it out I guess, but you really screwed with the plot line this time, so…"

"Some help you are." I mumble under my breath. "That's it." Chuck says standing up. "I'm not going to just sit here while this crazy girl-"

I "accidentally" knock his glass of red wine onto his pants. "_Ooo._ Sorry about that. Those pants looked expensive. And that's red wine. It's a shame you weren't just drinking plain, nonalcoholic water." I say sarcastically. I'm really enjoying this too much.

Suddenly I hear a commotion coming from the next room over which I think is the kitchen. The door is opened a crack. I lean over to catch a view and see a flash of white move over across. I tense up and look at Nemo. "Editors."

I see him tense up too. "Why are they here so soon? What do we do?" I ask revealing a little of my fear. I can see in his eyes he doesn't know. I quickly rack my brain. Then I get an idea.

"Alright fine. If I can't make it to the author's climax, I'm just going to have to have to make my own." I reach down and grab a pie off the table. Just as the first Editor enters I pull back my arm and then propel it forward with as much force as I can. It hits him squarely in the face. "_Score."_ I say involuntarily.

"What the hell?" Chuck says. "Who the hell are they?" He gives me another idea.

I jump down and grab him by the waist. I grasp him as dramatically as I can, and it looks like we've just finished a tango dance of some sort. "Chuck, my darling. How have I lived without you all this time? I want you to know I've always loved you and always will." I say like the overly dramatic women on soap operas.

Then I lean in and kiss him as passionately as I can. His breath stinks of wine but I hold back my gag. I'd rather take one for the team then let those Editors get me. I spin him back up and he nearly collapses (I didn't know I was that great a kisser) but I hold him up. Then I begin to fake tears. "You _bastard,_ how could you? It's over between us." I say and slap him squarely across the face. It leaves a red welt. I can't help but smile a little.

I steal a glance at the Editor. I'm lucky because he seems to be down for the count and he'd body is blocking the way for the other Editors. I still have a few seconds. People have already started to panic and run away. The room is in chaos. I cross over to Nate and Blair. "Blair I just want you to know that Nate and I had _sex_ and we love each other and we're going to run away and elope. Isn't that right Nate?"

Then I repeat what I did to Chuck to Nate. "You _bastard._" I say, trying hard not to laugh. I know my life may be potentially in danger, but the absurdity of it all makes me giggle. "I can't believe you cheated on me. I thought you were the one!"

Just as I finish slapping Nate across the face I glance over at the Editors. They've finally cleared the body off to the side. I realize my time is out. I make a run for the door. I take one last look back. "It's been fun and I'd love to stay, but I've gotta run." And I bolt out the door down the hallway.

I hear the door open behind me and a lot of shouting. I don't dare look back. I keep running, but then trip head first over my feet. One of my heels has broken. I don't have time to do anything so I rip them both off and then throw them as hard as I can at my pursuers. One of them misses, but the other hits one right in the face. He goes down and takes the man behind him with him.

I keep running. I come to an intersection. Stairs or elevator? Stairs, obviously. I notice the thick bannister leading down. I smile. This is also something I've always wanted to do. I jump up and start sliding down the railing, sidesaddle style. I can hear the Editors behind me, but I think they're falling behind.

I finally reach the lobby. I run up to the desk clerk. "There's a fire on the seventy fifth floor! And those men over there are responsible. Call the police, have them arrested!" I scream at him and then run off. He'll figure out eventually that I've been lying, but at least it'll slow down the Editors a bit. Hopefully.

I run out into the cool New York City air. I don't really know my way around and I'm suddenly at a loss for ideas. The thrill from a moment before is gone now, replaced with panic. What other things can I do to make a climax? Jump off another building? Maybe, but if that doesn't work then I'm cur-splat. And I'd rather not take that chance. Then I see the flashing light on the top of the Empire State Building. I decide it's better than staying here and would make a hell of a good spot for a climax. I wave for a taxi.

One pulls over and I hop in. "Empire State Building. Now. If you can get me there in less than two minutes I'll pay you double." The driver's eyes widen and he slams on the gas. We shoot forward. I was never one for car rides and I'm already feeling queasy. I focus on the scenes flashing past us. I can barely make anything out. I notice it's begun to drizzle though. I look back out the front. I can see tall skyscrapers rising up all around us. The Empire State Building is very close now.

I realize I have nothing to pay him with though. I quickly search my pockets, but to no avail. In fact, I don't even have pockets on this dress. Then I remember I'm wearing a golden bracelet. It looks pretty expensive to me, hopefully the taxi driver agrees. We suddenly pull to a quick stop. I nearly summersault out the front window, but luckily I'm wearing my seatbelt. I hand the bracelet over.

"Take this. And keep driving as fast as you can. I don't care where, just get out of here as soon as you can." And I hop out. As soon as my feet have touched the pavement, he's already out of sight, streaming down the crowded NYC streets. I quickly glance around but see no sign of the Editors. I run inside the building.

Thankfully it's still opened and not that crowded. The floor is cold against my bare feet. I glance around and see some people waiting for an elevator. I have no time to wait though. I push through to the front of the line where a guard is filtering people onto the elevators.

"Sir," I say as innocently as possible. I make my eyes really big and pout my lips. "I've seemed to have lost my parents. I think they've went up on the elevator without me. Wouldn't you _please_ let me on?"

He looks kind of skeptical. "How old are you?" he asks. I hear a commotion as the Editors enter the building. I start to panic a bit. "Um, I have a glandular condition that makes me appear older than I am." I say. He's still looking skeptically at me as the elevator doors open up. It's clear he's not going to let me in, at least not before the Editors get me, so I do something crazy. I lunge out at his belt and grab his keys that pilot the elevator. "Sorry I've got an elevator to catch." I say and jump inside.

The doors close just as the Editors push through. I see the anger on one of them. I think he may have been the one I hit with my heel. His face disappears as the elevator begins to climb up. I'm all alone. The capsule is silent except for my heavy breathing and the occasional drip from my wet hair. By the time we had arrived at the building it was pouring, so I had gotten a little wet.

_What do I do now?_ I guess I just need to take things one at a time. First, I need to stop/slow down the Editors. They'll be coming up in an elevator after me, so if I could somehow halt it then I could buy myself sometime. Okay that seems simply enough in theory. I guess I could just look for a power box or something and shut off the power to the elevator. The only problem is that I'm no electrician and I'd rather not get myself killed. I listen to my racing heart for a moment.

Where's Nemo? I could really use his help right now. I'd kind of lost track of him in the chaos at the party. My thoughts are halted by the click as the elevator reaches the top floor. The doors open and I run out into the cold hallway. It's empty. I guess everyone left for the end of the day. And maybe because it's also raining heavily outside now. _Focus. _

I run down the zig-zagging corridors. I only have so long before the Editors arrive on the 102nd floor. I turn a corner and suddenly I'm back at the elevators. My heart sinks. No, no, no. I begin to run in the opposite direction, but then notice a bronze square next to one of the elevators. I run over to it. It's screwed in, but I just kick it in really hard. Surprisingly it works. I rip off the plate and throw it to the ground. The crash echoes though the empty hallways.

Inside the panel is a labyrinth of different wires and plugs. I have no wire cutters and I have no idea which plug to pull. I begin to hyperventilate. Then I notice a big red switch over on the side. Perfect. I reach for it. It's stuck. _Please work, please work. _I pull harder and it suddenly gives way. I pull it down and suddenly all the lights go off and I hear the whir of the elevator stopping. I pull back just as a bolt of electricity explodes in my face. I'm unharmed, but badly shaken.

"It worked…IT WORKED!" I scream with joy. Now I just have to figure out an exciting climax. Hopefully I can safely jump from this world to the next and be done with the Editors.

I run to the gift shop and search for anything helpful. It's hard to see in the dark, but I remember I have the witchlight rune-stone thingy. The glowing rock Jace gave me. With my newly found rock I begin to explore the gift shop. All the little knickknacks and snowglobes look eerie in the light.

The only things helpful I can find are an umbrella, a rubber band, a statue of king-kong climbing the empire state building, and some mentos. I can use the umbrella as a weapon. And I successfully use the Y shape of the statue and the rubber band to make a sling-shot. I test it out with the mentos as ammo and it works surprisingly well. Now I just have to figure out a climax.

I wander to the windows to gaze out over the great city. I can barely see anything through the fog and rain. Suddenly I something. I crouch behind a shelf. I peer out and see the white feet of the Editors. I count five pairs of feet. They walk into the gift shop. I look for the nearest exit, but it leads out into the veranda. It'll have to do.

I fling a mento to the opposite side of the room. It smashes into a snowglobe. The Editors quickly turn to go investigate it. I turn to make a run for it, but suddenly a silver pole comes flying at my face. I thrust my umbrella up to meet it, but the force knocks me to the floor. I roll away just as the Editor slams it into where my head was.

I quickly stand up and start to back away. He pick up his pole thing and holds it up. I notice him press a button and I suddenly hear a sizzling noise. _Oh geez. _This thing is electrified. I realize my umbrella won't be able to do anything against it. I start shooting mentos at him though. They don't hurt him much though, only irritate him further. I take a chance and throw my umbrella at him. He ducks out of the way, but it gives me a moment to run.

He hadn't realized but I had slowly been backing but to the door. I shot them open and ran into the pouring rain. But my heart sank as I come to the realization that I'm trapped. This is the end. My parents will wonder what happened to me. I'm sure there'll be a search, I'll be pronounced disappeared, probably dead. I wonder what my funeral will look like. Will my mother cry? My father? Were they sentimental? I can barely remember. I have only the faintest memories of them crying at my graduation. Or was it my sister's graduation?

I've backed up into the tall spears encircling the outside. _There's no way I can climb that._ I think hopelessly. Then I realize that it's raining and the Editor's stick thing is electrified. I wasn't always the smartest in school but I remember something about water and electricity not going well together.

Before I can say anything though, the Editor steps out into the freezing weather and suddenly starts convulsing. I start to do something, but realize that I'd probably only get in the way or get myself killed. I pull myself away from his twitching body and start to run along the outside of the perimeter.

I know the only way out is to jump, but I really don't think that's going to work anymore. But it's the only idea I have left, so I start to climb up one of the viewing telescopes. I make it to the top, but the metal is very slippery. I summon all my courage and start to climb the tall poles. They start to curve in at the top. The rain is pelting my face, but I keep climbing. I reach the top, and I fling my leg over. I think I can hear shouts from the other Editors, but I block it out. I have to focus. My wet hair snags at my face and my party dress (now horribly ruined) flies about freely in the wind.

I use all my strength and finally pull myself over. Just as I do though, my hands slip. I try to grasp onto the railing, fear pulsing though my veins. I know I have to jump but I instinctively grasp for a handhold. I grab onto the edge, but my fingers slip off and I'm falling.

My heart is racing and I can't breathe. I'm going to die like this…At least the Editors didn't get me though. But I never got to say goodbye to Nemo. Or Jace. Or my mom or dad or any of my friends. I squeeze my eyes open and I can swear I can see Jace's face poking through the bars looking down at me. The agony on his face tears me to pieces. I shut my eyes. It couldn't be him. I'm hallucinating.

Suddenly I feel an edge of the building race by beside me. _That was too close._ My fear is rejuvenated and I start to worry about hitting the building. I feel tears stream down my face, but I'm not sure if their mine, or if it's just the rain. I squeeze my eyes closed tighter, almost as if it will stop the pain of falling. All I can think is _goodbye cruel world._

I can feel the ground racing up at me and I know it hasn't worked. The temperature drops twenty degrees. But suddenly I feel as if I've slowed down and I'm enveloped in a soft white cloud. The breath is knocked out of me, but at least nothing hurts. I guess this is what heaven feels like. Heaven's awfully cold though. I feel something wet on my face. I reach up to swipe at it, but my hands all wet too. I force my eyes open, but all I see is whiteness.

I slowly sit up and the world around my spins. As it begins to slow down I realize I'm in a forest. _Could I be in Central Park?_ No. Impossible. This forest is covered in snow, and seems much thicker. There are no walkways or benches either. And this forest just seems…I don't know, magically. Call me crazy but that's the only way to describe it.

I peer down and realize I'm not sitting in on a cloud, but in a pile of snow. Does that mean? It worked!YES! I'm ALIVE! Thank you god. I almost begin laughing at the wonder of it all, but I'm still out of breathe so I just end up panting. I'm alive…But the real question is…Where am I?

8


End file.
